Speeds up Action potential down axon, protects axon, MS destroys this
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Terminals
release NTs -- send signal onto next neuron
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Vesicles
sacs inside terminal contain NTs
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Synapses
Gap b/w neurons
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Action potential
movement of Na and K ions across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon
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All or non response
stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)
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Refractory period
neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets)
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Sensory neurons
receive sense signals
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Afferent neurons
Brain accepts signals, the outside world into the brain
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Motor neurons
signals to move
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Efferent neurons
signal exits brain, from the brain to the peripheral nervous system in order to initiate an action
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Interneurons
cells in spinal cord responsible for reflex loop
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Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord
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Peripheral Nervous System
Rest of the nervous system
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Somatic Nervous system
Voluntary movement
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Autonomic Nervous System
Involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)
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Sympathetic Nervous System
arouses the body fight/flight (generally activates -- sympathetic to you getting eaten by tiger helps you run away)
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Parasympathetic nervous system
established homeostasis after a sympathetic response
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Neurotransmitters (NT)
chemicals releases in synaptic gap, received by neurons
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GABA
Major inhibitory neurotransmitter in your central nervous system, Fluctuating levels of GABA are linked to medical conditions including anxiety, autism, and Parkinson's disease. Low GABA activity leads to anxiety, depression, insomnia, and mood disorders.Â
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GlutamatE
Major excitatory neurotransmitter (get excited when seeing your mates)
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Dopamine
Reward and movement
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Seratonin
Moods and emotions
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Acetylcholine (ACh)
Memory
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Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
Sympathetic nervous system arousal
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Endorphins
pain control
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Oxytocin
Love and bonding, involved in childbirth and breast-feeding. It is also associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building
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Agonist
drugs that mimics a neurotransmitter
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Antagonist
drug that blocks a neurotransmitter
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Reuptake
Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron. SSRIs )selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block
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Hindbrain
oldest part of the brain
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Cerebellum
movement/balance (walking a tightrope)
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Medulla
vital organs, (HR, BP) controls your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and more
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Pons
Bridge b/w regions -- basic functions, Â handles unconscious processes and jobs, such as your sleep-wake cycle and breathing
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Reticular formation
alterness, a complex network of brainstem nuclei and neurons that serve as a major integration and relay center for many vital brain systems to coordinate functions necessary for survival.
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Forebrain
higher thought processes, the processing of information related to complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities
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Limbic system
 functions to facilitate memory storage and retrieval, establish emotional states, and link the conscious, intellectual functions of the cerebral cortex with the unconscious, autonomic functions of the brain stem.
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Amygdala
emotions, fear
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Hippocampus
memory (if you saw a hippo on campus you’d remember it)
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Hypothalamus
reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors -- link to endocrine system, the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.
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Thalamus
relay center for all but smell
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Cerebral Cortex
outer portion of the brain -- higher order thought processes. carries out essential functions of your brain, like memory, thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, consciousness, and sensory
map of our motor receptors --- located in frontal lobe
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Left hemisphere only -- damage
results in aphasia damaged speech)
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Brocas area
inability to produce speech (Broca -- broken speech)
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Wernickes area
cant comprehend speech (Wernickes what???)
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Corpus Callosum
bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres -- sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures leads to “split-brain patients”
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Split-brain experiments
Done by Sperry and Gazzanlga, Sperry severed the corpus callosum in cats and monkeys to study the function of each side of the brain. He found that if hemispheres were not connected, they functioned independently of one another, which he called a split-brain.Â
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Brain Plasticity
brain can “heal” itself (brain is malleable),
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Nature vs. Nurture
Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception, e.g., the product of exposure, life experiences, and learning on an individual.
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Identical twins
monozygotic (MZ)
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Fraternal twins
Dizygotics (DZ)
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Genetics
MZ twins will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease
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Environment
MZ twins raised in different environments show differences
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Endocrine system
sends hormones throughout the body
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PIturitary gland
controlled by hypothalamus, release growth hormones
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Adrenal glands
related to sympathetic nervous system; releases adrenaline
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EEG
brain activity -- not specific, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp
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Xray
Not useful, doesnt show tissues, Â used for diagnostic purposes to visualize internal body structures:
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CT/MRI
shows structures (tumors)
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PET
glucose shows brain activity -- is an imaging test that allows doctors to see how your brain is functioning. The scan captures images of the activity of the brain after radioactive “tracers” have been absorbed into the bloodstream. These tracers are “attached” to compounds like glucose (sugar).
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fMRI
oxygen shows activity; real time
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Lesion
destruction of brain tissue
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Higher-Level (state of consciousness)
controlled processes -- totally aware, Â elevated awareness and perception that allows individuals to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of reality.
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Flashcard (67)