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Why do researchers study the brains of animals more than humans?
The same principles govern neural functioning in all species
What is the brief electrical charge that travels down an axon called?
Action potential
An individual has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Which of the following neurotransmitters is most likely to be at fault?
Serotonin
Which is the most influential of the endocrine glands?
Pituitary gland
What is the purpose of the myelin sheath?
Speed up the transmission of information within a neuron
Which part of the nervous system begins the process for moving the muscles required to walk across the street?
The central nervous system
Opiate drugs, such as morphine, are classified as what?
a. Antagonists, because they block neurotransmitter receptors for pain.
b. Agonists, because they mimic other neurotransmitters’ pain-diminishing effects. Excitatory neurotransmitters, because they activate pain-control mechanisms.
d. Sympathetic nervous system agents, because they prepare the body for a challenge.
e. Parasympathetic nervous system agents, because they calm the body
b.
Which part of the nervous system arouses the body in response to stressful stimuli?
Sympathetic nervous system
Which part of the nervous system calms the body after being excited?
Parasympathetic nervous system
Which part of the nervous system enables motor control of skeletal muscles?
Somatic nervous system
Which part of the nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord?
Central nervous system
What are the functions of the sympathetic nervous system?
Excites and arouses the body; Accelerates your heartbeat, raises your bp, slows your digestion, and makes you alert and ready for action. Responsible for the fight-or-flight response.
What are the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system?
Calms the body; Lowers heartrate, lowers blood pressure, stimulates digestion.
Specialized electrochemical cells that carry messages from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors inward to the brain and spinal cord for processing.
Sensory/Afferent Neurons
Specialized electrochemical cells that carry instructions from the CNS outward to the body’s muscles and glands.
Motor/Efferent Neurons
Specialized cells located within the brain and spinal cord that process information between the sensory input and motor output.
Interneurons
EEG (electroencephalogram)
An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
MEG (magnetoencephalography)
A brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity.
CT (computed tomography scan, or CAT) scan
A series of X-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain’s structure.
PET (positron emissions tomography) scan
A visual display of activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. Shows brain activity.
fMRI (functional MRI)
A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. Shows brain function as well as structure.
Brainstem
The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the brain; responsible for automatic survival functions.
Medulla
The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing
Thalamus
The brain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
Reticular formation
A nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal.
Cerebellum
The “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
Hypothalamus
Directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
Cerebral cortex
The intricate fabrics of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.
Frontal lobes
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.
Parietal lobes
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body positions.
Occipital lobes
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.
Temporal lobes
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement.
Somatosensory cortex
An area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
Corpus callosum
The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
Chromosomes
Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
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.
Genome
The complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes.
Electrical stimulation of the somatosensory cortex might result in the false sensation of what?
a. Music
b. Flashes of colored light
c. Someone whispering your name
d. Someone tickling you
e. A bad order
d.
Damage to the amygdala would result in what?
Damage to the amygdala causes reduced arousal to fear and anger-arousing stimuli
When Klüver and Bucy surgically lesioned the amygdala of a rhesus monkey’s brain, what was the impact on the monkey’s behavior?
a. Lost its ability to coordinate movement
b. Died because its heartbeat became irregular
c. Became less aggressive
d. Lost its memory of where food was stored
e. Sank into an irreversible coma
c.
An individual experiences brain damage that results in an inability to make plans for the future. Which part of the brain was probably damaged?
Frontal lobe
Which region of the brain plays a significant role in our sense of alertness and arousal?
Reticular formation
Evolutionary psychologists seek to understand how traits and behavioral tendencies have been shaped by what?
Natural selection
Heritability refers to the percentage of what?
Trait variation across individuals that can be explained by genetics
Damage to the hippocampus would result in what?
Difficulty creating new memories
What is the threshold of a neuron that it must reach before it fires an action potential?
-55mV+
(When at rest) The fluid outside an axon’s membrane has mostly ___ charged **_ ions. Its fluid interior has mostly **_ charged **_ ions.
Positively, sodium, negatively, potassium
Acetylcholine (ACh)
A neurotransmitter that enables muscle actions, learning, and memory. Neurons that produce this neurotransmitter begin to deteriorate in a disease known as Alzheimer’s.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning attention, and emotion. Oversupply linked to schizophrenia. Undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s disease
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression. Some drugs that raise levels of this neurotransmitter are used to treat depression
Norepinephrine
Both a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands and neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal. Undersupply can depress mood
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps calm the body down. Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia
Glutamate
A major excitatory neurotransmitter that’s involved in memory and learning. Oversupply can overstimulate the brain, producing migraines or seizures
Endorphins
Neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure. Oversupply with opiate drugs can suppress the body’s natural supply of this neurotransmitter
__ molecules increase a neurotransmitter’s action, some may __ the production or release of neurotransmitters, or block __ in the synapse. Other agonists may be similar enough to a ___ to bind to its receptor and __ its excitatory or inhibitory effects
Agonist, increase, reuptake, neurotransmitter, mimic
Antagonist molecules __ a neurotransmitter’s action by __ production or release from the opening receptor sites.
decrease, blocking
Thyroid gland
Gland that affects metabolism
Parathyroids
Glands that help regulate the amount of calcium in the blood
Adrenal glands
Glands that help trigger the fight-or-flight response by releasing norepinephrine
Pancreas
A gland that regulates the level of sugar in the blood
Ovary
Secretes female sex hormones
Testis
Secretes male sex hormones
Motor cortex
Back of the frontal lobes, running across the top of the brain from ear to ear. Controls voluntary bodily movements. Stimulation to specific parts of the cortex, causes its respective, lateralized, specific body parts to move.
Somatosensory cortex
Front of the parietal lobes, parallel to and just behind the motor cortex. Receives, registers, and processes body touch and movement sensations. Stimulation can cause feelings of being touched.
Visual cortex
Back of the occipital lobes and receives visual information. Stimulation can cause flashes of light or dashes of color that don’t really exist (hallucinations). Damage can cause loss of vision.
Prefrontal cortex
In the forward part of the frontal lobes; enables judgement, planning, and processing of new memories. Damage can alter personality and remove a person’s inhibitions, like Phineas Gage.
Broca’s area
An area in the frontal lobe of the brain that is concerned with the production of speech. Damage disrupts speaking causing fragmented speech and grammatical structure.
Wenicke’s area
An area in the brain that controls the comprehension of speech. Damage disrupts understanding of speech.
Paul Broca
French physician and anatomist who discovered the area of the brain responsible for speech production. His work on aphasia led to the development of the field of neuropsychology.
Carl Wernicke
German physician who discovered the area of the brain responsible for language comprehension
Roger Sperry
Neuropsychologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on the functional specialization of the brain's hemispheres. Most well known for his experiment where he severed the corpus callosum of cats and monkeys to study the functions of each hemisphere of the brain.
Michael Gazzaniga
American neuroscientist known for his research on split-brain patients. He demonstrated that the two hemispheres of the brain have specialized functions and can operate independently.
Charles Darwin
Naturalist and biologist who developed the theory of evolution through natural selection. He proposed that species change over time through adaptations to their environment and the survival of the fittest.
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