Neuro
what Is a Neuron
Nerve cell; basic building block of the nervous system
What is a lesion
lesion - destruction or removal of brain tissue
Nervous system definition
the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
What is melatonin?
sleep inducing hormone found in the hypothalamus
What is Olfaction
Our sense of smell
What is Action potential
Neural impulse, brief electrical charge travels down to the axon
what is neuroplasticity
the brains ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on expirience
what are reflexes and give an example
simple automatic response to a sensory stimulus
example: knee jerking when the doctor hits it
dual-processing
principle that information is often simultaniously processed on seperate conscious and unconscious tracks
what is gustaion
our sense of taste (sweet, sour, bitter, unami, oleogustus)
3 types of neurons and what they do
sensory: carry messages from body's tissue and sensory receptors inward (millions)
motor: carry instructions from CNS outward to body's muscles and glands (millions)
inter: brain and spinal cord, communicate internally (billions)
what are the 2 main brain scans and what do they do
FMRI: detects changes in blood flow to the Brian; shows "where" in the brain activity is occuring
EEG: measures electrical activity on the scalp using electordes placed on the head; shows "When" activity is happening
Excitatory and Inhibitory
Excitatory - accelerates neurons firing speed
Inhibitory - slows neurons firing speed
What is Circadian Rhythm
our internal biological clock; regular bodily rythyms that occur on a 24-hour cycle
What is synesthesia
connecting senses together; not a disorder
Example: eating something and seeing a color
Parts of the neurons
Dendrite: recieves messages from other cells conducting it to the cell body
Soma (cell body): contains the nucleus, the cells life support center
Axon: single lengthy fiber that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or muscle glands
Myelin Sheath : layer of fatty tissue insilates axons and speed their impulses
what is the limbic system
set of structures in the brain that deal with emotions and memories
what are Neurotransmitters
small chemical messengers that act as a mode of communication between nerve cells, also known as neurons, in the nervous system
8 you need to know - Acetylcholine, Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine, GABA, Endorphins, Substance P, Glutamate
Sleep Stages and what happens in each one
Stage 1(alpha): very light; believe you weren't sleeping
Stage 2(theta): light; majority of night spent here
Stage 3(delta): deep restorative sleep
REM(spindles): dream; paralysis
cornea - clear outer part of the eye's focusing system located at the front of the eye
iris - colored part of the eye that regulates the amount of light entering the eye (controls pupil size)
lens - behind the iris that helps to focus light, or an image, on the retina
retina - converts light into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain through the optic nerve
Do the neuron dance
What are the 4 lobes and what do they do
frontal - decision making, reasonig, movement, personality
parietal - touch, spatial-awarness ness, sensory proccessing
occipital - vision
temporal - hearing, language memory
Nervous System diagram (draw on white board)
CNS - brain and spinal cord
PNS - everything else
(PNS) Somatic - voluntary
(PNS) Autonomic - automatically
(Autonomic) Sympathetic - fight or flight
(Autonomic) Parasympathetic - calming
What are the 3 main sleep disorders and what are they known for
Insomnia: reoccouring problems with falling or staying asleep
Narcolepsy: uncontrollable sleep attacks
Sleep Apnea: temporarily stop breathing during sleep repeatedly (causing you to wake up)
what are the parts of the ear and function
pinna - outer ear; external part(flap); helps locate the origins of sound; size has no affect
cochlea - inner ear; Snail-shaped spiral structure in inner ear; filled with fluid & contains receptors for hearing
hammer, anvil, stirrup - middle ear; In middle ear at end of the auditory canal; Amplify vibrations from the ear drum and pass sound waves to inner ear