Chapter 7: Biological Bases: The Brain and Nervous System

is the study of behavior as influenced by biology.

is a genetic disorder that results in muscle impairment that does not typically occur until after age 40.

demonstrated that the two hemispheres of the brain can operate independently of each other.

involved in processing and integrating memories.

The axons end in ________, knobs on the branched end of the axon.

cause the pituitary to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which stimulates the adrenal glands, resulting in fight- or- flight reactions.

(electroencephalogram) measures subtle changes in brain electrical activity through electrodes placed on the head.

are distinctive characteristics or behavior patterns that are determined by genetics.

It also plays a role in learning, memory ________, and language processing.

has not only done pioneering research in this area, focusing on split- brain patients, but also published works in cognitive neuroscience for the general reader.

is a long, tubelike structure that responds to input from the dendrites and soma.

The myelin looks like beads on a string; the small gaps between the "beads "are known as the ________.

are quick and involuntary responses to environmental stimuli.

relays sensory information; receives and directs sensory information from visual and auditory systems.

is responsible for higher- level thinking such as abstract thought and decision making.

The pons is also implicated in ________ sleep.

is the genetic makeup of a cell or of an organism.

are the basic biological elements responsible for carrying information about traits between successive generations.

It also plays an important role in processing ________ from the body and sending it back to other parts of the brain.

serve to excite the cell or cause the neuron to fire.

uses extremely powerful electromagnets and radio waves to get 3- D structural information from the brain.

(fMRI) and PET scans (positron emission tomography) do allow scientists to view the brain as it is working.

provides another way by which various parts of our bodies relay information to one another.

________ inhibit (or stop) cell firing.

releases neurotransmitters, chemical messengers, across the synapse, where they bind with receptors on subsequent dendrites.

covers two symmetrical- looking sides of the brain known as the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

located at the front of the neck, produces thyroxine, which is important for regulating cellular metabolism.

are channels that are open all the time and that simply allow ions to "leak "across the membrane according to their gradient.

is associated with processes that burn energy.

comprising all other nerves in the body.

is the complementary system responsible for conserving energy.

controls the temperature and water balance of the body; controls hunger and sex drives; orchestrates the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system; and it can be divided into the lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus, the combination of which regulates eating behaviors and body weight.

is the part of the brain located at the front of the head, consisting mainly of the cerebrum.

are bundles of neurons, the basic unit of the nervous system.

allow researchers to map the structure and/or activity of the brain and correlate this data with behavior.

better known as CAT scans, generate cross-sectional images of the brain using a series of X-ray pictures taken from different angles.

Nerves sending information to the brain are sensory

those conveying information from the brain are motor

is responsible for voluntary movement of large skeletal muscles.

controls the nonskeletal or smooth muscles, such as those of the heart and digestive tract.

controls involuntary actions, such as breathing, digestion, heart rate, and swallowing (basic life functions)

Latin for “bridge,” the pons is a way station, passing neural information from one brain region to another.

controls muscle tone and balance

controls arousal (wakefulness and alertness).

who observed that brain damage to the left hemisphere in stroke patients resulted in expressive aphasia, or loss of the ability to speak.

discovered an area in the left temporal lobe that, when damaged in stroke patients, resulted in receptive aphasia, or the inability to comprehend speech.

also referred to as a nerve impulse, is a disturbance in this membrane potential.

neurotransmitters serve to excite the cell or cause the neuron to fire.

neurotransmitters inhibit (or stop) cell firing.

provides another way by which various parts of our bodies relay information to one another.

a release substance from glands

occurs when there are three copies of the 21st chromosome, which generally causes some degree of intellectual disability.

is a genetic disorder that results in muscle impairment that does not typically occur until after age 40.