cell body - the cells life support

dendrites - receive messages from other cells

axon - passes messages away from the body to other neurons

Myelin Sheath - covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses

Terminal Knobs - form junctions with other cells

neuron - basic building block of the nervous system

Action Potential - A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Synapse - junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Acetylcholine - what it does (Enables muscle action, learning and memory) examples (Under-supply marks Alzheimer’s disease)

Dopamine - what it does (Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion) examples (often linked to Schizophrenia, Brain produces tremors, Parkinson’s)

Serotonin - what it does (affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal) examples (under-supply causes depression)

Norepinephrine - what it does (controls alertness and arousal) examples (under-supply can depress mood)

GABA - what it does (major inhibitory neurotransmitter) examples (undersupply linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia)

Glutamate - what it does (major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory) examples (over-supply can produces migraines or seizures)

Endorphins - what it does (linked to pain, control and to pleasure)

Nervous System - the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system

Autonomic Nervous System - controls self-regulated actions of internal organs and glands

Somatic Nervous System - controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles

Sympathetic - arousing (fast)(fight or flight system)

Parasympathetic - calming (slow)(long-term survival)

Hypothalamus - neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature and it is linked to emotion)

Amygdala - two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion (Linked with fear and aggression)

Pituitary gland - the major endocrine gland. A pea-sized body attached to the base of the brain, the pituitary is important in controlling growth and development and the functioning of the other endocrine glands.

Hippocampus - the center of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system.

Frontal lobe - Prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, Brocas cortex

Parietal lobe - sensory cortex, wernicke’s cortex

Occipital lobe - visual cortex

Temporal lobe- auditory cortex

Cerebellum - helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

Medulla - the base of the brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing

Reticular Formation - a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

Pons - handles unconscious processes and jobs, such as your sleep-wake cycle and breathing

Corpus Callosum - large band of neural fibers, connects the two brain hemispheres, carries messages between the hemispheres

Thalamus - directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Sensory Cortex - responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain.

Motor cortex - generates signals to direct the movement of the body.

Prefrontal cortex - Digests and processes sensations

Broca’s Area - allows you to speak

Wernicke’s Area- processes language

Brain Plasticity - the brain’s capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development