Jeans/Genes
the genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.
What is... heredity
the brain and spinal cord.
What is... central nervous system (CNS)
A perfect score in bowling
What is...300
an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
What is... EEG
rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active. (Sometimes called R sleep.)
What is... REM
every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to our experiences of the people and things around us.
What is... environment
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
What is... neurotransmitters
What colors are the teletubbies?
What is... Purple, green, red, and yellow
the forebrain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
What is... thalamus
sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli.
What is... sensory receptors
individuals who developed from a single fertilized egg that split in two, creating two genetically identical organisms.
What is... identical twins
bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs.
What is... nerves
How many wives did Henry VIII have?
What is... six
the hindbrain’s “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
What is... cerebellum
information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
What is... bottom-up processing
the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).
What is... interaction
a neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.
What is... dendrites
The capitol of Oklahoma
What is... Oklahoma City
the portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; it includes the auditory areas, each of which receives information primarily from the opposite ear. They also enable language processing.
What is... temporal lobes
the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
What is... absolute threshold
“above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change).
What is... epigenetics
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; it enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.
What is.. myelin sheath
According to an old wive's tale, what keeps the doctor away?
What is... an apple a day
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
What is... corpus callosum
the theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors — one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue — which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color
What is... Young–Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory