Introduction to Biological Psychology and Neural Communication

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental terms in biological psychology, neural communication, neurotransmission, and the structure of the nervous system.

Phrenology

An ill-fated historical theory that, while serving as a reminder of the need for critical thinking, succeeded in focusing attention on the localization of function in the brain.

Localization of function

The idea that various brain regions have particular specific functions.

Biological psychologists

Researchers who use advanced technologies to study the links between biological, genetic, neurohormonal, and physiological processes and their interplay with behavior and mind.

Biopsychosocial systems

The concept that individuals are systems composed of biological, psychological, and social-cultural subsystems that interact and shape us over time.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

Hippocampus

One of the brain's memory centers that processes spatial memory.

Auditory cortex area

The sound-processing region of the brain that can expand with practice and experience.

Cultural neuroscience

A field of study showing that experiencing different cultural traditions, beliefs, and rituals can create distinct behavioral and brain activation patterns.

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Cell body

The part of the neuron that contains the nucleus and serves as the cell's life-support center.

Dendrites

A neuron's often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.

Axon

The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its terminal branches to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons, which insulates them and enables vastly greater transmission speed.

Glial cells (glia)

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons, and also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

Action potential

A neural impulse consisting of a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Ions

Electrically charged atoms whose exchange across the axon membrane generates neural electricity.

Resting potential

The positive-outside, negative-inside fluid state of a resting axon's membrane.

Depolarization

The loss of the inside-outside charge difference across an axon's membrane, which causes the next set of axon channels to open.

Threshold

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

Refractory period

A brief resting pause in neural processing after a neuron has fired, during which subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state.

All-or-none response

A neuron's reaction of either firing with a full-strength response or not firing at all.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Synaptic gap (synaptic cleft)

The tiny gap at the synapse separating the axon terminal of the sending neuron from the receiving neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons to bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron.

Reuptake

A neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron after crossing the synaptic gap.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter that plays a role in learning and memory and enables muscle action at every junction between motor neurons and skeletal muscles.

Endorphins

Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action by increasing its production or release, blocking reuptake, or mimicking its effects.

Antagonist

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action by occupying its receptor site without stimulating it, or by blocking production/release.

Botulinum

A poison that forms in improperly canned food and causes paralysis by blocking acetylcholine (ACh) release.

Curare

A poison used on hunting dart tips by some South American Indigenous people that occupies and blocks ACh receptor sites on muscles, causing paralysis.

Nervous system

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord, functioning as the body's decision maker.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Nerves

Bundled axons that form electrical cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs.

Sensory (afferent) neurons

Neurons that carry incoming information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors inward to the brain and spinal cord for processing.

Motor (efferent) neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing instructions from the central nervous system outward to the body's muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Somatic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and internal organ muscles, operating automatically to self-regulate functions such as heartbeat and digestion.