Behavioral Neuroscience Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards derived from the lecture notes covering key terms, historical figures, cellular structures, anatomical regions, developmental stages, electrical signaling, and neurotransmitter systems.

Neuroscience

The study of the nervous system, including the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems.

Behavioral neuroscience

The study of how brain structures and nervous-system functions respond to experience and generate behavior.

Dualism

The view that the mind and body/brain are separate entities; the mind is often considered nonmaterial while the body is material.

Monism

The view that mind and body are made of the same substance; in neuroscience this supports the idea that the mind is a product of the brain.

Phrenology

The historical idea that cognitive abilities and personality are localized to brain regions and can be inferred from the shape/bumps of the skull.

Localization of function

The principle that particular brain regions make specialized contributions to particular functions.

Broca's aphasia

Impaired speech production associated with damage to Broca's area, typically in the left hemisphere.

Reticular theory

The historical view that the nervous system forms one continuous interconnected network rather than separate cells.

Engram

A physical memory trace or the neural representation/location of a stored memory.

Hebb's principle

The principle that neuronal connections strengthen as a consequence of coordinated activity and experience: 'neurons that fire together, wire together.'

Hebbian synapse

A plastic synapse whose strength changes with use and coordinated pre- and postsynaptic activity.

Somatic intervention study

A study that experimentally manipulates the body/brain (independent variable) and measures resulting changes in behavior (dependent variable).

Behavioral intervention study

A study that experimentally manipulates behavior/experience (independent variable) and measures resulting changes in the body or brain (dependent variable).

Correlational study

A study in behavioral neuroscience that measures how closely biological and behavioral variables covary without experimentally manipulating them.

Neuron Doctrine

The principle that the brain is composed of individual cells, and signals are transmitted from one cell to another across gaps called synapses.

Dendrites

Neuronal structures whose main function is to receive chemical signals from other neurons and convert them into local electrical signals.

Dendritic spines

Small projections from dendrites that increase surface area available for synaptic contacts.

Soma

The cell body of a neuron that integrates incoming signals and contains the nucleus/genetic material and protein-synthesis machinery.

Axon

A neuronal process that conducts electrical signals away from the soma toward axon terminals.

Axon terminals

Specialized swellings at the end of an axon that release neurotransmitter to communicate with another cell.

Multipolar neuron

A neuron with one axon and many dendrites; common in the CNS and typical of motor neurons.

Bipolar neuron

A neuron with two main processes, typically one receptive process and one output process; found in specialized sensory systems such as the retina.

Pseudounipolar neuron

A sensory neuron with a single process that branches; common in dorsal root ganglia.

Glial cells

Non-neuronal nervous-system cells that support healthy neuronal signaling and also participate in information processing.

Myelin

A lipid-rich insulating layer wrapped around axons that increases conduction speed.

Oligodendrocytes

Glial cells that make myelin in the CNS.

Schwann cells

Glial cells that make myelin in the PNS.

Nodes of Ranvier

Gaps between myelin segments where the axonal membrane is exposed and action potentials are regenerated.

Microglia

The major immune/phagocytic glial cell of the CNS that removes pathogens, damaged cells, and debris.

Astrocytes

Glial cells that support neurons, regulate the extracellular environment, participate in synapses, and help form/maintain the blood-brain barrier.

Blood-brain barrier

A selective barrier between circulating blood and brain tissue that tightly controls which substances enter the CNS.

Ependymal cells

Glial cells associated with lining the ventricles/central canal and participating in cerebrospinal fluid-related functions.

White matter

Nervous system regions consisting of bundles of axons that appear white largely because many axons are myelinated.

Gray matter

Nervous system regions rich in neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, and synapses.

Cerebrum

The largest part of the brain, divided into two cerebral hemispheres.

Cerebral cortex

The folded outer covering of the cerebral hemispheres.

Gyri

Ridges/folds of cerebral cortical tissue.

Sulci

Grooves or crevices between gyri.

Thalamus

A major relay/processing station for information traveling to the cerebral cortex.

Hypothalamus

A brain region responsible for regulation of homeostasis and motivated/autonomic/endocrine functions.

Basal ganglia

Brain structures involved in motor control, especially initiation and regulation of movements.

Cerebellum

A brain region involved in coordination, timing, and fine-tuning of movement, as well as motor learning.

Meninges

Protective connective-tissue coverings surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Cerebrospinal fluid

Fluid in the ventricles and subarachnoid spaces that cushions and supports the CNS.

Somatic division

The division of the PNS associated primarily with voluntary skeletal-muscle control and somatic sensory information.

Autonomic nervous system

The PNS division that regulates involuntary visceral functions.

Sympathetic division

The autonomic division associated with fight-or-flight responses and mobilization of energy.

Parasympathetic division

The autonomic division associated with rest-and-digest functions and energy conservation.

MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging; a technique providing high-resolution structural images using magnetic fields and radiofrequency signals.

fMRI

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; a technique that measures functional brain activity indirectly through blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) changes.

PET imaging

Positron Emission Tomography; an imaging method that measures distribution of a radioactive tracer to infer metabolism, receptor binding, or other physiological activity.

Neurogenesis

The production of neurons from progenitor cells by cell division.

Neuronal migration

Movement of newly generated neurons or precursors from their birthplace to their final location.

Radial glial cells

Specialized cells that help guide neuronal migration during brain development.

Growth cone

A motile structure at the tip of a developing axon that guides the axon toward its target.

Circuit formation

The establishment of functional connections between developing neurons and their target cells.

Synaptogenesis

Formation of synapses between neurons or between neurons and target cells.

Apoptosis

Programmed, regulated cell death.

Neurotrophic factors

Target-derived or local survival/growth signals that support neurons and influence whether developing neurons survive.

Synaptic pruning

Selective elimination of unnecessary or weak synaptic connections.

Synaptic plasticity

The experience-dependent ability of synapses to change their strength or organization.

Sensitive period

A developmental window during which experience has an especially strong effect on neural circuit organization.

Genotype

An organism's genetic makeup.

Phenotype

The observable physical and behavioral characteristics produced by interactions between genes and environment.

Postsynaptic potential

A local graded change in membrane potential, usually initiated in dendrites/soma by neurotransmitter binding.

Action potential

A rapid, all-or-none electrical signal that propagates along the axon.

Electrochemical gradient

The combined effect of an ion's concentration gradient and electrical gradient.

Equilibrium potential

The membrane voltage at which an ion's diffusion force is exactly balanced by the electrical force, producing no net movement.

Depolarization

A change in membrane potential that makes the inside of the neuron less negative/more positive.

Hyperpolarization

A change that makes the inside of the neuron more negative than its prior level.

Graded potential

A local membrane-potential change whose amplitude varies with stimulus strength and decreases with distance.

Absolute refractory period

A period when another action potential cannot be generated because voltage-gated $Na^+$ channels are inactivated.

Relative refractory period

A period when another action potential is possible but requires a stronger-than-normal stimulus because the membrane is hyperpolarized and/or $K^+$ conductance remains elevated.

Saltatory conduction

Rapid action potential propagation in a myelinated axon in which the signal effectively 'jumps' from one Node of Ranvier to the next.

Channelopathy

A disorder caused by abnormal ion-channel function, often due to genetic changes.

Synaptic cleft

The small extracellular gap between presynaptic and postsynaptic cells.

Exocytosis

Fusion of a synaptic vesicle with the presynaptic membrane to release neurotransmitter into the cleft.

EPSP

Excitatory postsynaptic potential: a small local depolarization that moves the postsynaptic cell closer to threshold.

IPSP

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential: a local hyperpolarizing/stabilizing change that moves the postsynaptic cell farther from threshold.

Temporal summation

Process where multiple postsynaptic potentials from the same input arriving close together in time add together.

Spatial summation

Process where postsynaptic potentials from different synaptic locations occurring at about the same time add together.

Autoreceptor

A receptor on the presynaptic neuron that detects its own released neurotransmitter and often provides negative feedback to reduce further release.

Neurotransmitter reuptake

Transport of released neurotransmitter out of the synaptic cleft back into the presynaptic terminal or nearby glial cells.

Gap junction

A direct intercellular channel connecting the cytoplasm of adjacent cells, allowing ions and small molecules to pass in electrical synapses.

Retrograde transmitter

A signal released by the postsynaptic cell that travels backward to influence the presynaptic terminal.

EEG

Electroencephalogram: a recording of spontaneous, large-scale electrical brain potentials ('brain waves') from the scalp.

Ionotropic receptor

A ligand-gated ion channel where neurotransmitter binding directly opens a pore, producing fast and rapidly reversible effects.

Metabotropic receptor

A G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that changes cell activity indirectly through G proteins, ion channels, and/or second-messenger pathways.

Second messengers

Intracellular signaling molecules/cascades activated downstream of receptors that amplify or modify cellular responses.

Agonist

A substance that activates a receptor or mimics/potentiates the action of its neurotransmitter.

Antagonist

A substance that blocks a receptor and reduces/prevents the neurotransmitter's effect.

Mesostriatal dopamine pathway

A dopamine pathway that originates in the substantia nigra of the midbrain and projects to the striatum/basal ganglia, playing a main role in motor control.

Mesolimbocortical dopamine pathway

A dopamine pathway originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) projecting to limbic structures and cortex, associated with reward processing and reinforcement learning.