AP Psych: Biological Bases of Behavior

Dendrite

receive messages from other cells

Axon

passes messages away from cell body

Neural Impulse

the electrical signal traveling down the axon; action potential

Cell Body

cells life support center

Myelin Sheath

covers the axon and helps speed up neural impulses

Terminal branches

form junctions with other cells

Glial cells

support, nourish and protect neurons

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the reciving neuron

Reuptake

when the neurotransmitter is reabsorbed by the sending neuron

Threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Resting state of neuron

the outside is positively charged and the inside is negatively charged

Excitatory signal

neurotransmitters that trigger action

Inhibitory signal

neurotransmitters that signal a depress action

Polarization

resting state of the neuron

Depolarization

the action potential; positively charged ions rush in and out

Repolarization

the refractory period; closing the membrane and returning to resting state

Tolerance

That something no longer has a normal effect on you; in the brain, a change in the amount of neurotransmitters normally released to even out the imbalance

Withdrawal

the physical and mental consequences a person feels when the drug is removed

Acetylcholine (ACh)

influences muscle action, learning and memory; correlated to Alzheimer’s and parylization

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention and emotion; linked to addiction, schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease

Serotonin

influences mood, hunger, sleep and arousal; linked to depression

Norephinephrine

Influences alertness and arousal; linked to depressed mood

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter; linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory; linked to migraines and seizures

Endorphins

influences the perception of pain or pleasure; oversupply of opiate drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

Nervous System

the body’s electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Nerves

bundled axons of many neurons that form neural cables connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Sensory neurons

send signals from sense receptors inward toward the spinal cord

Motor neurons

send signals outward away from the CNS to muscles in the body

Interneurons

in the spinal cord, receives the information from the sensory neurons and send signals back through motor neurons

Central Nervous System

responsible for coordinating incoming sensory messages and outgoing motor messages

Spinal cord

a 2-way connection between PNS and the brain; oversees sensory and motor pathways of reflexes

Peripheral Nervous System

made up of sensory and motor neurons; connects the body to the CNS by gathering information from the senses and transmitting messages from the CNS

Somatic nervous system

controls the body’s skeletal muscles

Autonomic nervous system

controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs and operates automatically

Sympathetic

arouses the body, mobilizing its energy; fight, flight or freeze

Parasympathetic

calms the body, conserving its energy; rest or digest

Endocrine System

the body’s “slow” chemical communtcation system

Pituitary Gland

the master gland; it secretes growth hormones and oxytocin; its secretions direct the other glands to secrete their hormones

Oxytocin

stimulates uterine cintractions of child birth and milk secretions

Hypothalamus

directs eating, drinking, body temperature; linked to emotion and reward; influences the pituitary gland to regulate growth and control other glands

Adrenal glands

When fight or flight is activated, the glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline and noradrenaline) to energize the body

Lesion

brain tissue is destroyed and researchers study the impacts on fuctioning

Stimulation

brain regions are stimulated electrically, chemically, or magnetically and researchers study the impact on functioning

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure electrical activity in neurons

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

A head coil records magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity

Computed tomography (CT)

x-rays of the head generate images that may locate brain damage

Position emission tomography (PET)

Tracks where a temporarily radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain of the person preforms a given task

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

People sit or lie in a chamber that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to provide a map of brain structure

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

measures bloodflow to brain regions by comparing continuous MRI scans

Brain stem

automatic survival functions

Medulla

controlls heartbeat and breathing

Pons

controls sleep and coordinates movement

Reticular formation

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus; helps control arousal and filter incoming sensory stimuli

Thalamus

relays the sensory information (not smell) to the brain

Cerebellum

responsible for sensory information, coordinate movement/balance, nonverbal learning and memory

Limbic system

controls emotions, memory and drive

Amyglada

linked to emotion, fear and aggression

Hippocampus

process memories and facts for storage

Cerebral cortex

the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

Frontal lobe

involved in speaking, motor movements, judjement and decision making

Parietal lobe

receives and processes sensory input for touch and body position

Temporal lobe

each lobe recieves auditory information, primarily from opposite ear

Occipital lobe

recieves visual information, primarily from opposite eye

Motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory cortex

registers information from skin senses and body movement

Auditory cortex

recieves information from ears

Visual cortex

recieves information from eyes

Association areas

areas of the brain cortex that integrates information involed in learning, remembering, thinking and other higher level functions

Broca’s area

is the language center involved in expressive language and speaking

Wernicke’s area

the language center involved in receptive language and understanding

Plasticity

the brain’s ability to change by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Neurogenesis

the brain’s ability to produce new neurons

Corpus callosum

a wide band of axon fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain

Split brain

happens when a scientist separates the brain by cutting the corpus callosum

Left Hemisphere

right side of the body (vision and motor skills); deals with rational/analytical thought, speaking, planning, math/science and logic

Right Hemisphere

Left side of the body (vision and motor skills); deals with intuitive/emotional thought, impulse, imagination, creativity and logic

Visual field

along the retina of the eye, sense receptors pick up stimuli that is about two inches apart; the right sides of both retinas gather information from the left side of what you are looking at and vice versa

Consciousness

subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment; helps us cope with novelty and act in our best interests

Cognitive neuroscience

combines the study of brain activity with how we learn, think, remember and perceive

Dual processing

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks; the two-tracked mind

Blindsight

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Parallel processing

the unconscious processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously;  generally used to process well-learned information or to solve easy problems; muscle memory; multitask

Sequential processing

the conscious processing or one aspect of a problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems

Heredity

nature; is the genetic transfer of characteristics from parent to offspring

Environment

nurture; is every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us

Behavior Geneticists

study the relative power and limits of heredity/environmental influences on behaviorstudy the relative power and limits of heredity/environmental influences on behavior

DNA

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes

Genes

the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins

Chromosomes

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Human genome

the complete instructions for making a human organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that person’s chromosomes

Identical monozygotic twins

develop when a single fertilized egg splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms

Fraternal dizygotic twins

develop when separate fertilized eggs share a maternal prenatal environment (uterus); no more alike than siblings

Heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes

Molecular genetics

the study of the molecular structure and function of genes

Molecular behavior genetics

the further study of how the structure and function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior

Epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change