Unit 2: Biological Bases of Behavior (copy)

Dopamine

\________ stimulates the hypothalamus to synthesize hormones and affects alertness and movement.

Serotonin

\________ is associated with sexual activity, concentration and attention, moods, and emotions.

Albinism

\________ arises from a failure to synthesize or store pigment and also involves abnormal nerve pathways to the brain, resulting in quivering eyes and the inability to perceive depth or three- dimensionality with both eyes.

Paul Broca

\________ (1861) performed an autopsy on the brain of a patient, nicknamed Tan, who had lost the capacity to speak, although his mouth and his vocal cords werent damaged and he could still understand language.

Insomnia

\________ is the inability to fall asleep and /or stay asleep.

Psychological dependence

\________ develops when the person has an intense desire to achieve the drugged state in spite of adverse effects.

Electroencephalograms

\________ (EEGs) can be recorded with electrodes on the surface of the skull.

Positron emission tomography

\________ (PET) produces color computer graphics that depend on the amount of metabolic activity in the imaged brain region.

Pons

\________ generates bursts of action potentials to the forebrain, which is activation.

Cyton

contains cytoplasm and the nucleus, which directs synthesis of such substances as neurotransmitters.

Glutamate

\________ is a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information processing throughout the cortex and especially memory formation in the hippocampus.

Nonconscious

\________ is the level of consciousness devoted to processes completely inaccessible to conscious awareness, such as blood flow, filtering of blood by kidneys, secretion of hormones, and lower- level processing of sensations, such as detecting edges, estimating size and distance of objects, recognizing patterns, and so forth.

Psychoactive drugs

\________ are chemicals that can pass through the blood- brain barrier into the brain to alter perception, thinking, behavior, and mood, producing a wide range of effects from mild relaxation or increased alertness to vivid hallucinations.

Glial cells

\________ guide the growth of developing neurons, help provide nutrition for and get rid of wastes of neurons, and form an insulating sheath around neurons that speeds conduction.

Functional MRI

\________ (fMRI) shows the brain at work at higher resolution than the PET scanner.

Circadian rhythm

\________ is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep- wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.

Tay Sachs syndrome

\________ produces progressive loss of nervous function and death in a baby.

Freud

\________ tried to analyze dreams to uncover the unconscious desires (many of them sexual) and fears disguised in dreams.

Stimulants

\________ are psychoactive drugs that activate motivational centers and reduce activity in inhibitory centers of the central nervous system by increasing activity of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine neurotransmitter systems.

Unconsciousness

\________ is characterized by loss of responsiveness to the environment, resulting from disease, trauma, or anesthesia.

Cerebral cortex center

\________ for higher- order processes such as thinking, planning, judgment; receives and processes sensory information and directs movement.

endocrine system

consists of glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones into your blood.

Hypothalamus

portion of brain part that acts as endocrine gland and produces hormones that stimulate (releasing factors) or inhibit secretion of hormones by the pituitary.

Gamma aminobutyric acid

\________ (GABA) inhibits firing of neurons.

Lucid dreaming

the ability to be aware of and direct ones dreams, has been used to help people make recurrent nightmares less frightening.

Hypnosis

\________ is an altered state of consciousness characterized by deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility.

dissociation theory

hypnotized individuals experience two or more streams of consciousness cut off from each other.

Antagonists

\________ block a receptor site, inhibiting the effect of the neurotransmitter or agonist.

Tolerance

decreasing responsivity to a drug.

Endocrine

glands include the pineal gland, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland in your brain; the thyroid and parathyroids in your neck; the adrenal glands atop your kidneys; pancreas near your stomach; and either testes or ovaries.

Withdrawal symptoms

\________ include intense craving for the drug and effects opposite to those the drug usually induces.

Heritability

\________ is the proportion of variation among individuals in a population that is due to genetic causes.

Agonists

\________ may mimic a neurotransmitter and bind to its receptor site to produce the effect of the neurotransmitter.

Reflex

\________ involves impulse conduction over a few (perhaps three) neurons.

Narcotics

\________ are analgesics (pain reducers) that work by depressing the central nervous system.

Preconscious

\________ is the level of consciousness that is outside of awareness but contains feelings and memories that you can easily bring into conscious awareness.

Depressants

\________ are psychoactive drugs that reduce the activity of the central nervous system and induce relaxation.

Central nervous system

consists of your brain and your spinal cord

Somatic nervous system

has motor neurons that stimulate skeletal (voluntary) muscle

Autonomic nervous system

has motor neurons that stimulate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle

Plasticity

Although specific regions of the brain are associated with specific functions, if one region is damaged, the brain can reorganize to take over its function

Pineal Gland

endocrine gland in brain that produces melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythms and is associated with seasonal affective disorder

Hypothalamus

portion of brain part that acts as endocrine gland and produces hormones that stimulate (releasing factors) or inhibit secretion of hormones by the pituitary

Pituitary Gland

endocrine gland in brain that produces stimulating hormones, which promote secretion by other glands including TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone); ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which stimulates the adrenal glands; FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), which stimulates egg or sperm production; ADH (antidiuretic hormone) to help retain water in your body; and HGH (human growth hormone)

Thyroid Gland

endocrine gland in neck that produces thyroxine, which stimulates and maintains metabolic activities

Parathyroids

endocrine glands in neck that produce parathyroid hormone, which helps maintain calcium ion level in blood necessary for normal functioning of neurons

Adrenal Glands

endocrine glands atop kidneys

Pancreas

gland near stomach that secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood sugar that fuels all behavioral processes

Ovaries and Testes

gonads in females and males, respectively, that produce hormones necessary for reproduction and development of secondary sex characteristics

Hypothalamus

systematically regulates changes in your body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels, hormonal levels, and activity levels over the course of about a day

Tolerance

decreasing responsivity to a drug

what is the difference between epigenetics and brain plasticity

epigenetics focuses on changes in gene expression, while brain plasticity focuses on changes and adaptions in the brain's structure and function

explain the role of the hypothalamus in the endocrine system

helps to maintain homeostasis and regulate various bodily functions such as growth, metabolism, and reproduction.

what is the difference between the central and nervous system

The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system includes all the nerves outside of the CNS. The CNS is responsible for processing and coordinating sensory input and motor output, while the PNS is responsible for transmitting sensory information to the CNS and carrying motor commands from the CNS to the muscles and glands.

describe the different parts of the peripheral nervous system

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of two main parts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system controls voluntary movements and sensory information, while the autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions such as heart rate and digestion. The autonomic nervous system is further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

glial cell

non-neuronal cell that provides support and protection for neurons in the nervous system

what must happen for action potential to occur

when a neuron's membrane potential reaches a certain threshold, typically around -55mV. This threshold is reached when enough excitatory signals are received from other neurons, causing the neuron to depolarize and fire an action potential down its axon.

permeability

refers to the ability to move between both sides

resting neuron

a neuron that is not currently sending a signal. At rest, the inside of the neuron is negatively charged relative to the outside. This is due to the distribution of ions across the neuron's membrane

depolarization

the process by which the membrane potential of a cell becomes less negative (more positive). Depolarization is an important process in the generation of action potentials in neurons and muscle cells

repolarization

the phase of an action potential in which the membrane potential returns to its resting state after depolarization.

refractory period

the period of time after a neuron has fired an action potential during which it is unable to fire another action potential

what is the difference between an electrical synapse and chemical synapse

An electrical synapse is a direct connection between two neurons that allows for the flow of ions and electrical current, while a chemical synapse involves the release of neurotransmitters to transmit signals between neurons

synaptic gap

the small space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of another neuron. This gap is where neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal and bind to receptors on the dendrite, allowing for communication between neurons

reuptake

**Reuptake**

a process in which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron after they have been released into the synaptic cleft

inhibitory neurotransmitter

a type of neurotransmitter that decreases the likelihood of an action potential firing in the postsynaptic neuron. Examples of inhibitory neurotransmitters include GABA and glycine.

excitatory neurotransmitter

a type of neurotransmitter that stimulates the postsynaptic neuron to generate an action potential. Examples of excitatory neurotransmitters include glutamate and acetylcholine.

hyper-polarization

a change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more negative than its resting potential, caused by the efflux of positively charged ions or influx of negatively charged ions. It is often associated with the inhibitory effects of neurotransmitters in the nervous system.

epinephrine

emotions, activates sympathetic nervous system

norepinephrine

controls alterness, wakefulness, and attention

GABA

major inhibitory transmitter that is most active during sleep

midbrain

responsible for managing reflexes

reticular formation

controls arousal

reticular activating system

is a network of neurons located in the brain stem that project anteriorly to the hypothalamus to mediate behavior

prefrontal cortex

“higher level thinking” complex thinking, cognitive

motor cortex

an area within the brain's cerebral cortex that is involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

the site that registers touch, pressure, temperature, and pain in the cerebral cortex

sensory homunculus

A visual representation of how much space your brain needs to operate parts of your body

angular gyrus

a ridge along the lower surface of the parietal lobe of the brain, formed by a junction of the superior and middle temporal gyri

thalamus

 directs messages to the sensory areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla (sensory switchboard)

hypothalamus

regulates the autonomic nervous system by producing and releasing hormones

nucleus accumbens

the brain's pleasure center, because this cluster of neurons modulates the effect of the neurotransmitter dopamine on which many neural circuits depend on

basal ganglia

 a group of subcortical nuclei responsible primarily for motor control, as well as other roles such as motor learning, executive functions and behaviors, and emotions

brain lateralization

the differing functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain

what happens when u learn new info

neural connections are formed

restoration theory

sleep is necessary because we get tired and need to reserve our energy

adaptive theory

\
we sleep because it allows us to conserve energy and save it for when we need it most

information processing theory

sleep allows us to restore and build memories

what type of neuroimaging technique can we use to visualize the sleep cycle

EEG

alpha waves

slower waves high amplitude (NREM1)

beta waves

fastest waves low amplitude (REM)

theta waves

greater amplitude than alpha and beta and have an even slower frequency (very relaxed) (NREM2)

delta waves

greatest amplitude and slowest frequency (super relaxed) NREM3

NREM1

slow eye movement, relaxed wakefulness

NREM2

no eye movement, dreaming is rare, easily awakened

NREM3

body is fully relaxed, deep sleep, not easily awakened

REM

rapid eye movement, dreams occur

activation synthesis model

dreams are our brain trying to make sense of neural activity that we experience

activation theory

your brain will relay different context in ur dreams depending on which part of ur brain is activated

physiological function

our dreams stimulate our neural pathways and allow them to grow and be preserved