Flashcards With Every Single Term

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| Term | Definition |

|------|------------|

| Spinal cord | The major conduit for information traveling between the brain and the peripheral nervous system |

| Motor units | A motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it innervates |

| Muscles | Contractile tissues that produce movement in the body |

| Posterior parietal association cortex | Area of the brain involved in spatial attention and integration of sensory information |

| Dorsolateral prefrontal association cortex | Region of the frontal lobe involved in executive functions, working memory, and decision-making |

| Motor homunculus | A distorted representation of the human body within the motor cortex based on the amount of cortical space dedicated to each body part |

| Parietal cortex | Processes sensory information related to touch, temperature, and pressure |

| Temporal cortex | Involved in processing auditory information, language comprehension, and memory formation |

| Frontal cortex | Responsible for executive functions, motor control, and personality |

| Cerebellum | Coordinates motor movements, balance, and posture |

| Basal ganglia | A group of subcortical nuclei involved in motor control, learning, and executive functions |

| Spinal reflexes | Involuntary, nearly instantaneous motor responses to stimuli |

| Flexors and extenders | Muscle groups that bend (flex) or straighten (extend) joints |

| Stretch reflex | A muscle contraction in response to stretching within the muscle |

| Withdrawal reflex | An involuntary retreat from a painful or noxious stimulus |

| Cerebrum | The largest part of the brain, responsible for higher-order functions like thought and action |

| Cerebral cortex | The outer layer of the cerebrum, involved in higher cognitive functions |

| Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) | Clear, colorless fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, providing protection and nutrient transport |

| Pons | Part of the brainstem that relays signals from the forebrain to the cerebellum |

| Thalamus | A relay station for sensory and motor signals going to and from the cerebral cortex |

| Blood-brain barrier | A selective semipermeable border that separates the circulating blood from the brain extracellular fluid |

| Hypothalamus | Regulates homeostasis, including body temperature, hunger, and sleep |

| Limbic system | A set of brain structures involved in emotion, behavior, motivation, and long-term memory |

| Oligodendrocytes | Glial cells that produce myelin in the central nervous system |

| Schwann cells | Glial cells that produce myelin in the peripheral nervous system |

| Action potential | A brief electrical event in which the membrane potential of a cell rapidly rises and falls |

| Resting potential | The relatively stable membrane potential of a neuron when not transmitting a signal |

| Rising phase | The initial stage of an action potential where sodium ions rapidly enter the cell |

| Repolarization | The stage of an action potential where potassium ions exit the cell, returning it to its resting state |

| Hyperpolarization | When a neuron's membrane potential becomes more negative than its resting potential |

| Refractory period | The time after an action potential during which a neuron is unable or less able to fire another action potential |

| Absolute refractory period | The brief period immediately following an action potential when another action potential cannot be initiated |

| Relative refractory period | The period following the absolute refractory period when it is possible but difficult to initiate another action potential |

| Depolarization | An increase in membrane potential, making the inside of the cell less negative |

| EPSP (Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential) | A temporary depolarization of postsynaptic membrane potential caused by the flow of positively charged ions into the cell |

| IPSP (Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential) | A temporary hyperpolarization of postsynaptic membrane potential caused by the flow of negatively charged ions into the cell |

| Saltatory conduction | The method of action potential transmission in myelinated neurons, where the signal "jumps" between nodes of Ranvier |

| Pre-synaptic membrane | The portion of the neuron's membrane that releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft |

| Post-synaptic membrane | The portion of the neuron's membrane that contains receptors for neurotransmitters |

| Optogenetics | A biological technique that uses light to control neurons that have been genetically modified to express light-sensitive ion channels |

| Brainbow | A genetic engineering technique that randomly expresses different ratios of fluorescent proteins in neurons, allowing individual neurons to be distinguished from their neighbors |

| MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) | A medical imaging technique that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate detailed images of the body's internal structures |

| T1-weighted MRI | An MRI sequence where bone appears dark and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) appears black |

| T2-weighted MRI | An MRI sequence where bone appears light and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) appears white |

| TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) | A non-invasive method of brain stimulation that uses magnetic fields to temporarily "turn off" or modulate specific areas of the cortex |

| PET (Positron Emission Tomography) | An imaging technique that uses radioactive tracers to visualize metabolic processes in the body |

| fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) | A technique for measuring brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow |

| CT (Computed Tomography) | A quick imaging technique that uses X-rays to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body, useful for detecting brain bleeds |

| Metabotropic receptors | Receptors that do not form ion channels but instead activate intracellular messenger systems when bound by neurotransmitters |

| Ionotropic receptors | Ligand-gated ion channels that open or close in response to neurotransmitter binding, allowing ions to flow directly through the channel |