Genes & environment
The units of heredity
What is genes
The brain and spinal cord
What is Central Nervous System (CNS)
A nerve cell
What is Neuron
An electrical neural impulse
What is Action potential
Chemicals that send messages between neurons
What is Neurotransmitters
Traits passed from parents to children
What is Heredity
Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord
What is Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Part of the neuron containing the nucleus
What is Cell body
Minimum stimulation needed for a neuron to fire
What is Threshold
Chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream
What is Hormones
All non-genetic influences and experiences
What is environment
Controls skeletal muscles
What is Somatic nervous system
Branches that receive messages
What is Dendrites
A neuron either fires fully or does not fire
What is All-or-none response
Natural chemicals connected to pain relief and pleasure
What is Endorphins
Helpful inherited traits are more likely to be passed on
What is natural selection
Controls organs and glands automatically
What is Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Carries messages away from the cell body
What is Axon
Short resting time after a neuron fires
What is Refractory period
A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action
What is Agonist
Environment can affect gene expression without changing DNA
What is Epigenetics
Arouses the body for action or "fight or flight."
What is Sympathetic nervous system
Fatty covering that speeds up signals along an axon
What is Myelin sheath
The junction/gap where neurons communicate
What is Synapse
A molecule that blocks a neurotransmitter's action
What is Antagonist