AP Psychology Unit Two

Contains the nucleus and other parts of the cell needed to sustain its life

Wirelike structure ending in the terminal buttons that extends from the cell body

Fatty covering around the Axon- speeds up neural impulses

Branched end of the axon that contains neurotransmitters

Chemicals contained in terminal Buttons that enable neurons to communicate

Space between the terminal buttons of one neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron

Areas on a dendrite designed to receive a specific neurotransmitter

Level of neurotransmitters required to “fire” a neuron

Electric charge that spreads down the length of a neuron after the threshold is achieved

like a bullet from a gun(rapidly)

Neuron either fires completely or it does not fire at all

Electrochemical processes

Chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that excite the next neuron into firing

Chemicals released from the terminal buttons of a neuron that prevent the next neuron from firing

Associated with motor movement- lack of it is associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Associated with motor movement and alertness- lack of it is associated with Parkinson’s disease- over abundance is a associated with schizophrenia

Neurotransmitter associated with pain control- involved in drug addictions

Neurotransmitter associated with mood control- lack of it ends with clinical depression

Neurons that take information from the senses to the brain

responsible for transmitting neural impulses from the rest of the body to the brain

Neurons that take information from the brain to the rest of the body- carry information that exits the brain

Part of the nervous system that consists of our brain and spinal cord- all the nerves are housed within the bone(skull and vertebrae)

bundle of nerves that run through the center of the spine- transmits information from the rest of the body- to the brain

All the nerves in your body other than the brain and spinal cord nerves; all the nerves not encased in bone

The peripheral nervous system is

Controls voluntary muscle movements- motor cortex sends impulses to these allowing us to move

Controls the automatic functions of the human body(heart, lungs, etc. ), and responses to stress

The autonomic nervous system is divided into

Mobilizes our body to respond to stress- part of the nervous system that carries messages to the control systems of the organs, glands, and muscles that direct the body’s response to stress

Is the sympathetic nervous system alert?

Responsible for slowing down the body after a stress response- carries messages to the stress response system that causes the body to slow down

What can you remember that the parasympathetic nervous system is similar to?

Removal or destruction of part of the brain

Device that detects brain waves- widely used in sleep research to identify the different stages of sleep and dreaming

sophisticated x-ray- uses several cameras that rotate around the brain and combine all the pictures into a detailed three-dimensional picture of the brain’s structure(only the structure)

uses magnetic fields to measure the density and location of brain material(only the structure)

measures how much of a certain chemical(glucose, for example) parts of the brain are using

Combines elements of the MRI and PET scans

Structures in the top part of the spinal cord- controls the basic biological functions that keep us alive(medulla, pons, and cerebellum)

involved in the control of our blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing- located above the spinal cord

located just above the medulla but toward the front- connects the hindbrain with the midbrain and forebrain- involved in the control of facial expressions

located on bottom rear of brain, “little brain”, coordinates some habitual muscle movements, such as tracking a target with our eyes or playing the saxophone

located above spinal cord- controls important movements like motor simple movements with sensory information

Netlike collection of cells throughout the midbrain that controls general body arousal and the ability to focus attentin- comas come if it doesn’t function

controls what we think of as thought and reason- includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus

located on top of the brain stem- responsible for receiving sensory signals coming up the spinal cord and sending them to the appropriate areas in the rest of the forebrain

small structure next to the thalamus- controls several metabolic functions, including body temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst, and endocrine system

In the limbic system- experiences of emotion

vital to our memory system- not permanently stored here, but memories are processed here and then sent to other locations in the cerebral cortex

Name for the structures: thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus

wrinkled surface of brain, 1-mm layer of neurons, covers the brain

cerebral cortex is divided into two hemispheres(left and right)

Get sensory messages and controls the motor function of the right half of the body- spoken language, logic, and sequential/logical tasks

Gets sensory messages on and controls the motor function of the left half of the body- spatial and creative tasks

specialization of function in each brain hemisphere

Nerve bundle that connects the two brain hemispheres

areas of the cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital

any area of the cerebral cortex that is not associated with receiving sensory information or controlling muscle movements

located at the top front part of the brain behind the eyes- the front of it is called the prefrontal cortex(acts as the brains central executive and is believed to be important in for seeing consequences, pursuing goals, and maintaining emotional control

located in frontal lobe- responsible for controlling the muscles involved in producing speech

Interprets both written and spoken speech, damage would affect ability to comprehend language

vertical strip at the back of the frontal lobe, sends signals to our muscles, controlling our voluntary movements

located behind the frontal lobe on top of the brain, contains the sensory cortex

vertical strip of cerebral cortex that receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of our body

located at the back of our brain, farthest from our eyes- interprets messages from our eyes in our visual cortex

processes sound sensed by our ears

parts of the brain can adapt themselves to perform other functions if needed

system of glands that secrete hormones

the study of the parts and function of neurons

neural cell(dendrites, cell body, axon, and terminal buttons)

rootlike parts of the cell that stretch out from the cell body and they grow to make synaptic connections with other neurons