The Neuron
This is the "Ear" of the Neuron, which receives messages from other Neurons
What is the Dendrite?
This brain chemical is responsible for feelings of pleasure and acts as the Brain's reward system.
What is Dopamine?
The oldest large region of our brain, which controls basic function
What is the Brainstem?
The Bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain
What is the corpus callosum?
Biochemical units of heredity that makeup chromosomes
What are Genes?
The axon is coated in this fatty tissue layer, which insulates and allows for faster neural transmission
What is the Myelin Sheath?
This sub-system within the nervous system is responsible for the regulation of our body's homeostasis, which it accomplishes by speeding up or slowing down bodily processes
What is the autonomic Nervous System?
The "baby brain" at the back of our heads that controls coordination and movement
What is the cerebellum?
The lobe of the brain that is responsible for planning, judgment, and reasoning
What is Frontal Lobe?
Dizygotic Twins are more commonly known as
Fraternal Twins
When Neurotransmitters cross the synaptic gap, they bind to these spots on the receiving dendrite like keys fitting in locks
What are receptor sites?
This system operates slower than neurotransmitter in the brain, and send chemicals through the blood instead
What is the endocrine system?
These are the main functions that the "Limbic system" is associated with controlling (Must name 2 of 3)
Emotions (Amygdala)
Drives (Hypothalamus)
Memory (Hippocampus)
A thin band that runs down the entire length of the back of the Frontal Lobe, is responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement
What is the Primary Motor Cortex?
When a gene "expresses" or shows itself under differing environmental conditions
Epigenetics
The two ions that are responsible for the "action potential" of electricity running down the length of the axon.
What are Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K)?
Please correctly identify the function of both Afferent and Efferent Neurons
Afferent = Sensory. Receives information from the outside world and sends it to the brain.
Efferent = Motor. Sends signals to the body from the brain.
Please identify all of the Body's senses that the Thalamus is involved with.
*The Thalamus reroutes sensory information to appropriate cortexes in the brain.
Vision
Hearing
Taste
Touch
No Smell
When a person loses a sense early in life, the brain will take over that part of the brain and use it for other purposes.
What is plasticity?
This type of Psychology focuses on survival of the fittest and reproduction
Evolutionary Psychology
Please describe in detail how drugs like SSRIs and Cocaine block the reuptake of Neurotransmitters and why this is often beneficial.
Drugs that block reuptake prevent the Terminal Button of the sending Neuron (one giving the neurotransmitter) from reabsorbing the chemicals in the synaptic gap that it had released previously. The potential benefit is that this artificially boosts the amount of a neurotransmitter in the brain, which can help with certain psychological disorders (e.g Depression)
Please identify the part of the brain responsible for controlling, and the master gland of the Endocrine system and explain how they work together to control the entire system.
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the system. It sends messages to the Pituitary gland, which in turn sends chemical instructions to all the other glands of the Endocrine system.
Please explain the difference between an MRI, fMRI, and CT scan.
CT Scan: X Rays of the head
MRI: Manipulates Magnetic fields to create accurate images of brain structures
fMRI: Uses a series of MRI scans to measure blood flow throughout the brain.
Please describe the function of association areas
Association areas in the brain do not have a specific function, but rather create connections and involved in higher mental fucntions like remembering, thinking, and speaking
Monozygotic Twins are more commonly known as
identical twins