Modules 9-10

The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes

A nerve cell

The basic building block of the nervous system

The spherical part of the neuron that contains the nucleus

Connects to the dendrites, which bring information to the neuron and the axon, which sends information to other neurons

A neuron’s bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons, muscles, or glands

A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons

Enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural messages hop from one node to the next

The cells that form the myelin sheath on axons outside the brain

A neural impulse

A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

A period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

A neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing

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

The gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

When released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

(aka epinephrine)

Produced by the adrenal glands and released into the bloodstream

Part of the "fight or flight" response. When facing a perceived stressor or threat, it stimulates the nervous system to prepare the body for a quick response

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Deteriorates with Alzheimer’s disease

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Oversupply linked to schizophrenia, undersupply linked to tremors and Parkinson’s disease

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Undersupply linked to depression, some antidepressants raise it’s levels

(aka noradrenaline)

Helps control alertness and arousal

Undersupply can depress mood

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Oversupply can overstimulate the brain, causing migraines and/or seizures

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

A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

A class of antidepressants that act by blocking the reuptake of serotonin into serotonin-containing presynaptic neurons in the central nervous system

The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems 

The brain and spinal cord

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

Bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

(aka skeletal nervous system)

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles 

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs (ex. the heart)

Sympathetic division arouses, parasympathetic division calms

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus (ex. knee-jerk response)

The body's slow chemical communication system

A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands that travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress

The endocrine system’s most influential gland

Under the influence of the hypothalamus, regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands