Unit 4: Biological Bases of Behavior

brain and spinal cord

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system)

fight or flight (arouses)

rest and digest (calms)

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

Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands (master gland)

Just above the kidneys and secretes hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress (adrenaline)

chemical messengers made by endocrine glands

brain hemispheres are functionally different

neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and allowing communication between them

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum

the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing or building new pathways

nerve cell

neurotransmitters that didn't bind to receptor sites are taken back into the synaptic vesicles

chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory and muscle movement (linked the Alzheimer’s)

neurotransmitter that affects hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood

neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system (linked to Parkinson’s, too little dopamine vs and schizophrenia, too much dopamine)

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

the state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Once action potential reaches threshold, either fires or doesn't

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

drugs that stimulate or excite the central nervous system (ex. caffeine, cocaine)

drugs that tend to slow down the central nervous system (ex. alcohol, Xanax)

distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input (ex. LSD, cannabis)

depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety (ex. heroin)

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle (ex. wakefulness, body temp)

mimics and enhances a neurotransmitter's effect

binds to a receptor and blocks a neurotransmitter's effect

parts of a neuron

sensory neurons ("as")

motor neurons ("em")

controls the right side of the body; analytical, language, math

controls the left side of the body; creative, intuitive, spacial

able to say the word on right side of the dot but only able to draw the word on the left side of the dot

process many aspects simultaneously, used to process well-learned info and solve familiar problems

falling asleep, brain still active but everything is slowing down, high amplitude theta wave

light sleep, less aware of surroundings, sleep spindles, eye movements stop, body temp drops

deep sleep, muscles completely relaxed, brain consolidates memories, delta waves

rapid eye movement, vivid dreams occur, brain consolidates emotional memories, brain activity similar to when awake but body paralyzed

inhibitory neurotransmitter that blocks signals going through neurons, good for calming stress and anxiety

excitatory neurotransmitter important in controlling alertness, wakefulness, mood, and attention

part of brain stem that is the sensory switchboard, directs all sensory messages except smell

part of brain stem that controls heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing

part of brainstem that controls alertness

system that consists of hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala (associated with emotional drives, memory formation, sexual drive, etc.)

part of brain that processes explicit memories for storage

controls endocrine system and regulates homeostasis

linked to emotion and helps us remember emotionally charged events

generate signals to direct the movement of the body (part of frontal lobe)

responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature, and pain (part of parietal lobe)

speaking, muscles movements, making plans, abstract thinking

receive sensory input for touch and body position

processes speech, sounds, and smells and stores long-term memory

receive info from visual fields

part of frontal lobe responsible for planning, judgements, and not fully developed until around 25

the capacity of the nervous system to modify itself, functionally and structurally, in response to experience and injury

part of the brainstem that relays information between different parts of the brain, controls breathing, regulates sleep and arousal, and controls facial sensation and movement

helps coordination, motor control, balance, and movement

interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres

dreams are random neurological firings that have no particular meaning

we organize our memories as we sleep so our dreams, which often contain elements from what we experienced that day, are a byproduct of that process

when wishes can't or won't be fulfilled in our waking lives, they are carried out in dreams

underlying meaning of symbols in dream

actual literal subject matter of the dream

muscles under conscious control

stop breathing during sleep

hard time staying awake during the day

trouble sleeping