Mental Health
Vocabulary
Disease
The Brain and Crime
Fun Facts
100

Mental illness characterized by a down mood or loss of interest in activities once enjoyed

Depression

100

Part of the neuron containing the nucleus and other organelles

Soma or cell body

100

The name for an injury involving a blow to the head that causes the brain to bounce around inside the skull

Concussion

100

DAILY DOUBLE

This legal defense allows a defendant to be found not guilty if they were unable to understand the nature of their crime due to severe mental illness

Criminal insanity or insanity defense

100

This hormone and neurotransmitter plays a large role in the fight or flight response and can be used to treat severe allergic reaction

Epinephrine or adrenaline

200

This mental health condition causes dramatic mood shifts from manic to depressive episodes

Bipolar disorder

200

The part of the nervous system consisting of the nerves that branch off from your spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

200

Coined by an English physician with the same name, this degenerative disease impacts muscle control, balance, and movement causing tremors or shaking

Parkinson's disease

200

This experiment put normal college students into the roles of prisoners or guards in a makeshift prison, and it concluded that people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play

The Stanford Prison Experiment

200

This Russian neurologist discovered classical conditioning, a learning process where organisms associate a stimulus with a response

Ivan Pavlov

300

This is the handbook used by health care professionals in the US used to diagnose mental disorders

DSM or DSM-5-TR

300

The space between two neurons that allow a signal to pass from cell to cell

Synapse

300

Symptoms for this degenerative brain disease typically appear in the mid 60s, and it progressively destroys memory and thinking skills by killing brain cells

Alzheimer's

300

This form of testimony is often regarded as unreliable in court due to the fragility and susceptibility of human memory

Eyewitness testimony

300

Cephalgia is the medical term for this common issue with your head

Headache

400

This technique to better your mental health involves focusing on your sensations and thoughts in the present moment 

Mindfulness

400

DAILY DOUBLE

This part of the nervous system is responsible for rest and digestion and active when there is no perceived threat to the organism

Parasympathetic nervous system

400

This disease occurs when there is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes of the brain called the meninges

Meningitis

400

This is behavior that violates the basic rights of others and is often associated with criminal behavior; this is also a type of personality disorder

Antisocial behavior or antisocial personality disorder

400

This is the average weight of the human brain

about 3 lbs or 1300 to 1400 grams

500

This disorder, typically present in children, is defined by frequent and ongoing patterns of anger, irritability, arguing, and defiance towards authority figures

ODD or Oppositional defiant disorder

500

The insulating sheath that can be found around many nerve fibers which increases the speed of the impulse message

Myelin

500

This disease occurs when the immune system attacks myelin often causing fatigue, the inability to walk, loss of vision, balance, bowel control, bladder control, or more

Multiple sclerosis or M.S.

500

Abnormalities in this part of the brain, responsible for decision making and impulse control, have been found in a number of violent criminals 

Prefrontal cortex

500

Aphantasia refers to an individual being unable to do this within their mind

Visualize mental imagery

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