Unit 1 Ap psych vocab

Neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

soma

main sight of neuron

dendrites

Branches extending from soma that recieve messeges

axon

"bridge" passes messeges from soma.

myelin sheath

fattty tissue layer surrounding axon

Terminal Branches

end of the axon, sends messeges to other neurons

threshold

min. level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Glial Cells

povides nutrients/ myelin sheath(worker bee)

action potential

shift from negative to positive in neuron

resting state

negative charge of neuron when inactive

selectively permeable

depolarization

Change in neurons membrane potential

repolarizes

change in membrane potential turns back to negative

refractory period

period of time when theirs a break from firing

synapse

gap between axon tip and dendrite

neurotransmitter

signaling molecule

reuptake

neurotransmitter reabsorbed by presynaptic neuron

acetylcholine

muscle action, learning, memory

dopamine

reward and motivation, motor control over voluntary movement

endorphins

natural pain killers

agonist

drug molecule that strengthens neurotransmitter action

Antagonist

blocks neurotransmitters action

serotonin

Regulates mood, sleep, and appetite.

nervous system

the network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body.

nerves

bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

sensory neurons

carry impulses from the sense organs to the spinal cord and brain

motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

CNS

central nervous system

PNS

peripheral nervous system

Somatic

controls skeletal muscles

autonomic

controls glands and muscles of internal glands

Sympathetic

arouses body, mobilizes energy( fight, flight or gas pedal)

parasympathetic

calms body down(break pedal)

brain

oldest and fundamental part of body.

spinal cord

from brain stem to lower back

endocrine system

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

adrenal glands

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

lesion

tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

stimulation

any activity that arouses a baby's sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell

EEG

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

fMRI

measure of blood flow and brain activity

medulla

regulates heart rate,blood pressure and breathing

pons

bridge between different parts of the brain, controls sleep regulation

RAS

regulates arousal and attention by prioratizing sensory info.

thalamus

the brain's sensory switchboard, 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

cerebellum

A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills. (balance and coordination)

amygdala

system structure involved in memory and emotion

hypothalamus

directs eating, drinking, body temperature

hippocampus

storage for memories and facts

cerebral cortex

the body's ultimate control and information-processing center

frontal lobe

speaking, decision, planning

temporal lobe

auditory linguistic

parietal lobe

touch and body position

ocipital lobe

visual info processing

Motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

auditory cortex

strip of cortex in the temporal lobe that is responsible for processing auditory information

visual cortex

The visual processing areas of cortex in the occipital and temporal lobes.

association areas

areas of cerebral cortex that are composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex

prefrontal cortex

part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language

Broca's area

speech production, left hemisphere frontal lobe

Wernicke's area

speech comprehension (temporal lobe)

plasticity

brain can re wire by forming new neural connections

split brain

a condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them

left hemisphere

(academic side) speaking,language, math, literal interpretations

right hemisphere

(artistic side) visual perception, emotion, infrences,perceptual tasks

visual field

the whole area that you can see without moving your head or eyes

corpus callosum

a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain.