A
Neurotransmitter that is a key component of the brain's reward system, motivation, and pleasure. It is crucial for movement, cognition, and mood.
Dopamine
Type of Psychoactive Drug
Agonists for Endorphins, highly addictive
Types: Heroin, Oxycodone, Fentanyl
Opioids
Hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland that influences social bonding, trust, empathy, and reproduction
Love Hormone
Oxytocin
Inhibitory NT in the CNS, responsible for slowing down brain activity and regulating mood, sleep, and anxiety.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
Process where a presynaptic neuron reabsorbs neurotransmitters it previously released into the synaptic cleft.
Reuptake
Division of the PNS that controls involuntary bodily functions like heart rate, digestion, and breathing.
Autonomic Nervous system
Views that our cognitive and behavior function are due to natural selection, suggesting that traits which enhanced survival and reproduction in our ancestors are more likely to have been passed down through generations
Evolutionary Perspective
First phase of a neuron firing, where the inside of the cell becomes less negative as it receives an excitatory signal, causing positive ions to the positive power to rush in.
Depolarization (neuron firing)
Efferent neurons that transmit signals from the CNS to muscles and glands, controlling voluntary movements and bodily functions
Motor Neurons
Hormone that suppresses appetite and increases energy expenditure
Leptin
Caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and nicotine
Speed up body processes, including autonomic nervous system functions such as heart and respiration rates
Stimulants
NT and hormone that is a key component of the fight-or-flight response, increasing alertness, arousal, and attention
Norepinephrine
The "rest and digest" division of the ANS, responsible for conserving energy by slowing heart rate, stimulating digestion, and returning the body to a calm state after a stressful event
Parasympathetic Nervous system
The recovery time after a neuron fires an action potential when it cannot fire another one
Refractory period (neuron firing)
Everything outside the central nervous system (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous System
Central nervous system disease where the immune system attacks the myelin sheath
Multiple Sclerosis
Improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.
Galton
Eugenics
Substance that binds to a receptor but does not activate it, instead blocking the action of a natural neurotransmitter
Antagonists
Neurotransmitters that act as the body's natural painkillers and can produce feelings of pleasure or euphoria.
Endorphins
Division of the PNS that controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles and transmits sensory information from the body to the CNS.
Somatic Nervous system
Hormone produced by the stomach that stimulates appetite.
Ghrelin
Reduced response to a drug after repeated use, leading an individual to consume larger doses in order to achieve the same effect.
Tolerance
Afferent neurons, transmit information from sensory receptors (like the eyes, ears, and skin) to the CNS (the brain and spinal cord).
Sensory Neurons
Research method used to investigate the influence of genetics versus environment on behavior by comparing identical (monozygotic) and fraternal (dizygotic) twins
Twin Studies
Drug that causes distortion of a person's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
Hallucinogens