Neural Communication
The Nervous System and Endocrine System
The Brain
Structure and Functions of the Cortex
The Brain's Plasticity and Our Divided Brain
100
the basic building block of our nervous system
What is a neuron
100
The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system.
What is the nervous system.
100
The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull.
What is the brainstem.
100
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information processing center.
What is the cerebral.
100
The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganzing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.
What is plasticity.
200
the neuron's bushy branching extensions that receive information
What is a dendrite
200
The brain and spinal cord.
What is the central nervous system.
200
The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
What is medulla.
200
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.
What is the parietal lobes.
200
The formation of new neruons.
What is neurogenesis.
300
a neural impulse
What is action potential
300
A simpl, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.
What is a reflex.
300
The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits to the cerebellum and medulla.
What is the thalamus.
300
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
What is the sensory cortex.
300
The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
What is the corpus callosum.
400
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron.
What is the synapse.
400
The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
What is the endocrine system.
400
The "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include some nonverbal learning, processing sensory input, and coordinating movement output and balance.
What is the cerebellum.
400
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, speaking, and integrating information.
What is the association areas.
400
A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them.
What is split brain.
500
Natural, opiatlike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.
What is endorphins.
500
A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress.
What is the adrenal glands.
500
A neural structure lying below the thalamus.
What is the hypothalamus.
500
Control language expression; an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
What is the Broca's area.
500
The side of the brain that controls speech.
What is the left side.
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