A
Part of the cerebral cortex located above the ears, primarily responsible for processing auditory information, language comprehension and memory formation
Temporal Lobe
A chemical or drug that binds to a neurotransmitter receptor site and stimulates a biological response, mimicking the effect of a natural neurotransmitter.
Agonist
Largest brain lobe, located behind the forehead, crucial for higher-level cognitive functions, motor control, and personality.
Frontal Lobe
Located at the back of the cerebral cortex, is the brain's primary visual processing center.
Occipital Lobe
The spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass to the brain (Melzack)
Gate Control Theory
A pair of almond-shaped nuclei located in the temporal lobes (limbic system) that acts as the brain's emotional control center, specializing in fear, aggression, and raw emotion
Amygdala
Minimum intensity of stimulation (light, sound, pressure, taste, or smell) needed for an individual to detect that stimulus 50% of the time.
Absolute Threshold
Called the "little brain," is located at the back of the skull beneath the cerebrum. Essential for coordinating voluntary movements, balance, posture, and motor learning, ensuring smooth, precise physical actions
Cerebellum
The neurological principle where the left brain controls the right side of the body/visual field, and vice versa.
Contralateral hemispheric lateralization
Region in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production, language processing, and grammatical structure.
Broca's Area
Crucial component of the limbic system, primarily responsible for processing explicit, long-term memories—specifically episodic memory (events) and semantic memory (facts)—and spatial navigation
Hippocampus
Critical region in the brain's left temporal lobe responsible for language comprehension and understanding spoken words.
Wernicke's Area
Body’s internal 24-hour biological clock, regulating sleep-wake cycles, body temperature, and hormone release, primarily driven by light cues
Circadian Rhythm
Perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion rather than a constant amount
Weber's Law (Just noticeable difference)
Drug or chemical that binds to synaptic receptors but blocks or inhibits the activity of neurotransmitters
Antagonist
Sleep disorder characterized by repeatedly stopping and starting breathing during sleep, often due to blocked airways.
Sleep Apnea
Increased frequency or length of REM sleep that occurs after a period of REM sleep deprivation. Brain quickly enters and stays in REM longer to make up for lost time, often resulting in more intense or vivid dreams
REM Rebound
Color vision via three antagonistic neural pairs—red/green, yellow/blue, and black/white—where activating one color inhibits its opposite
Opponent-Process Theory
Perception of pitch based on the specific location along the basilar membrane in the cochlea that vibrates in response to sound waves.
Place Theory
Hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear's cochlear hair cells or the auditory nerve.
Sensorineural deafness
Body's mechanism for balance and spatial orientation, detecting head position, movement, and gravity, located in the inne ear.
Vestibular sense
Chronic neurological sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable, sudden daytime sleep attacks, often causing a direct lapse into REM sleep
Narcolepsy
Generating new neurons, occurring primarily in the adult hippocampus (memory) and olfactory bulb.
Neurogenesis
Neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces
Prosopagnosia (face blindness)
Drug that alters perception, mood, and cognition. It can cause hallucinations, distortions in time and space, and changes in sensory experiences.
Hallucinogens