The Neuron & Transmission
This is the "all-or-nothing" electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron
What is an Action Potential?
This "master gland" of the endocrine system is controlled by the hypothalamus and regulates growth
What is the Pituitary Gland?
This is the body's natural 24-hour cycle that regulates sleep and wakefulness.
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
This is the minimum amount of stimulus energy needed for a person to detect it 50% of the time
What is the Absolute Threshold?
This division of the Autonomic Nervous System triggers the "fight or flight" response
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System?
These drugs increase the action of a neurotransmitter, often by mimicking its shape.
What are Agonists?
Located in the limbic system, this structure is essential for processing new memories into long-term storage
What is the Hippocampus?
This sleep stage is characterized by rapid eye movement, vivid dreaming, and muscle paralysis.
What is REM sleep?
The process of converting physical energy (like light) into neural impulses the brain can understand.
What is Transduction?
These specific neurons carry incoming information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the brain
What are Sensory (Afferent) Neurons?
The brief period after a neuron fires during which it cannot fire again, regardless of the stimulus intensity
What is the Refractory Period?
This thick band of nerve fibers connects the left and right hemispheres, allowing them to communicate
What is the Corpus Callosum?
This sleep disorder is characterized by sudden, uncontrollable "sleep attacks" directly into REM.
What is Narcolepsy?
This principle states that for a person to notice a difference between two stimuli, they must change by a constant percentage, not a constant amount.
What is Weber’s Law?
This research method compares identical and fraternal twins to determine the heritability of certain traits
What are Twin Studies?
This process involves the sending neuron reabsorbing excess neurotransmitters from the synaptic gap.
What is Reuptake?
Damage to this area in the left frontal lobe would result in difficulty speaking, though the person could still understand language.
What is Broca’s Area?
This theory suggests that dreams are merely the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural firing during sleep.
What is the Activation-Synthesis Theory?
These photoreceptors in the retina are responsible for color vision and fine detail, but require bright light to function.
What are Cones?
This term refers to the influence of genetic factors (nature) vs. environmental factors (nurture) on behavior.
What is Nature vs. Nurture?
This specific part of the neuron is a fatty tissue layer that speeds up the transmission of neural impulses.
What is the Myelin Sheath?
This brainstem structure is responsible for vital life functions like heartbeat and breathing.
This brainstem structure is responsible for vital life functions like heartbeat and breathing.
These brief, involuntary "jerks" or feelings of falling occur during NREM Stage 1 sleep.
What are Hypnagogic Sensations?
This coiled, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear is where sound waves are transduced into neural impulses.
The somatic nervous system is part of this broader division, which connects the CNS to the rest of the body.
What is the Peripheral Nervous System?