cerebral cortex: covers the cerebral hemispheres, it is the body’s ultimate control and information processing center

glial cells: cells located in the nervous system that work as janitors by supporting and nourishing neurons, they also play a role in learning and thinking.

frontal lobe: located just behind the forehead, it is involved in speaking and muscle movements along with making plans and judgments.

parietal lobe: situated at the top back of the brain, it receives sensory input for touch and body positions.

occipital lobe: located in the back of the head, includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.

temporal lobe: portion of the cerebral cortex located just above the ears, includes auditory areas, each receives information mainly from the opposite ear.

motor cortex: an area at the back of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

somatosensory cortex: located at the front of the partial lobe, it registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

association areas: areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, they are involved in higher mental functions such as thinking, learning, remembering and thinking.

Wernicke area: in the temporal lobe, it is responsible for speech and understanding

Broca: in the frontal lobe, helps with talking and speaking

plasticity: the brain’s ability to change (especially during childhood) by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

neurogenesis: the formation of new neurons

corpus callosum: a band of neural fibers that connects the two brain hemispheres, and carries messages between them

split brain: a condition that results from a surgery that isolates the two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum most of the time this surgery is performed in order to stop severe seizures

consciousness: our awareness of ourselves, and our environment

cognitive neuroscience: the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

dual processing: the idea that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

blindsight: guessing/knowing the color or orientation of an object without being able to actually see it

behavior genetics: the study of how genetic variations affect psychological traits such as personality, mental illness, cognitive abilities, and social attitude

environment: every external influence from when a baby is in the womb to the people and things around us

chromosomes: threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain genes

DNA: a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up chromosomes

genes: the biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes, segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins

genome: the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes

identical twins: twins who developed from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical people.

fraternal twins: twins who developed from different fertilized eggs. They are genetically no close than siblings, but they share a fetal environment.

genetic relatives: bio-parents and siblings

environmental relatives: adopted parents and siblings

molecular genetics: the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes

heritability: the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied

interaction: the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)

epigenetics: the study of environmental influences on a gene expression that occurs without a DNA change.

evolutionary psychology: the study of the evolution of behavior of the mind, using principles of natural selection

natural selection: the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

mutation: a random error in gene replication that leads to a change