Know your neuron
The oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival skills
what is the brainstem
Part of the autonomic nervous system that governs the fight-or-flight response
What is the sympathetic nervous system
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres
What is the cerebral cortex
Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. An undersupply is closely linked to depression
What is serotonin
Our biological clock, regular bodily rhythms that occur in a 24-hr period
What is the circadian rhythm
What term refers to the minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus?
Absolute Threshold
What type of neuron carries outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
What are motor nuerons
If this brain part is damaged, one might slip into a coma
What is the reticular formation?
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The portion of the cerebral cortex involved in speaking, muscle movements and making plans and judgments
What are the frontal lobes
Influences movement, learning, attention and emotion. Its oversupply is linked to schizophrenia.
What is dopamine
Also known as paradoxical sleep because the muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active. Better known as the primary sleep stage
What is REM sleep
Which part of the eye is responsible for controlling the size of the pupil?
Iris
A layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of many neurons: enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses.
What is myelin sheath
The brain's sensory control center (except for the sense of smell)
What is the thalamus
After I have 'fought-or-flown,' I want to 'rest-and-digest' through this nervous system
What is the parasympathetic nervous system
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear that receives sensory input for touch and bodily position from the somatosensory cortex
What are the parietal lobes
Acetylcholine (ACh) enables muscle action and memory; its breakdown can lead to this disease
What is Alzheimer's
Associated with deep sleep in NREM-3 (and with brain activity during AP psych class)
What are delta waves
What is the name of the theory that suggests that perception is the result of combining sensory information with prior expectations and knowledge?
Top-down processing
The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons
What is an axon
Know as "the little brain" (no, not what you have used in this class), it helps to coordinate movement and balance, as well as nonverbal learning and memory
what is the cerebellum
Carry information from the body's tissues and sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain
What are sensory (afferent) neurons
Ironically located at the back of the head because it receives information from the visual fields (think 'seeing stars' if you hit the back of your head)
What are the occipital lobes
Influence the perception of pain or pleasure. Opiates can suppress it.
What are endorphins
Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
what is insomnia
What is a sensory receptor for painful stimuli called?
what are Nociceptors
the brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron is fired
What is a refractory period
the neural system associated with emotions and drives
what is the limbic system
Neurons found exclusively in the CNS that transfer signals between sensory and motor neurons
Who are interneurons
Located just where you would think, just above the ears, though they receive information from the opposing ear
What are the temporal lobes
An oversupply can lead to migraine headaches or seizures.
What is glutamate
Often experienced in AP psych class, sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness
What is narcolepsy
What term describes the phenomenon where we perceive patterns as a whole even if they are made up of smaller parts?
Gestalt Psychology principle of closure
a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full strength response) or not firing
What is the all-or-none response
This part of the brain is mainly responsible for aggression and fear
What is the amygdala
Carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glans
what are motor neurons
An area at the rear of the frontal cortex that controls voluntary movements
What is the motor cortex
The undersupply of dopamine is linked to tremors and decreased mobility of this disease
What is Parkinson's
Associated with fatigue and depression, as a result of slow-wave sleep deprivation, and characterized by intermittent cessation of breathing
what is sleep apnea
Sound is the ____ waves we experience.
What is pressure?
A neural impulse, a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
what is action potential
Helps to regulate hunger, thirst, body temperature and sexual behavior
What is the hypothalamus
A set of glands that secrete chemical messengers called hormones into the bloodstream
What is the endocrine system
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in higher mental functions, not primary motor or sensory functions
What are association areas
This neurotransmitter is chemically similar to the drug cocaine
What is dopamine
The theory that dreams help us to sort out the day's events and to consolidate memories
What is the information-processing theory of dreaming
The four taste senses are _____.
What are Bitter, sweet, sour, and salty?
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons
what are neurotransmitters
Helps process conscious memories of facts and events for storage
what is the hippocampus
The most influential endocrine gland that is controlled by the hypothalamus
What is the pituitary gland
The brain's ability to change by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
What is plasticity
Serotonin is chemically similar to these drugs (name at least one)
What are LSD and ecstasy
The theory that dreams are the brain's attempt to synthesize random neural activity
what is the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming
Our skin has cutaneous and tactile receptors that provide information about ___, ___, and ___.
What are pain, temperature, and pressure?