Neural communication
Basic cell that receives, processes, and transmits information in the nervous system.
Central nervous system
Brain and spinal cord
Corpus callosum
Connects left and right cerebral hemispheres
Frontal
Planning and decision making
Hormones
Chemical messengers released by endocrine glands
Sensation
Detecting physical stimulation through sensory receptors
Iris
Colored part, controls pupil size
Eardrum
First structure to vibrate from sound waves
Vestibular sense
Detects head movement, balance
Dendrites
Branching parts that receive messages from other neurons
Peripheral nervous system
Rest of neurons not directly affiliated with central nervous system
Cerebellum
Balance and coordination
Parietal
Touch, pressure, temperature
Genes
"Units of heredity"
Perception
Organizing and interpreting sensory input to give it meaning
Lens
Hammer, anvil, stirrup
Located in middle ear
Kinesthetic sense
Knowing your limb position without looking
Carries the electrical signal (action potential) away from the cell body
Somatic nervous system
Controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles
Hippocampus
Forming new memories
Occupital
visual
Transduction
Converting physical stimulation into neural signals
Retina
Light sensitive inner surface, contains rods and cones
Cochlea
Fluid-filled inner ear structure containing hearing receptors
Basic tastes
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, unami (not spicy)
Myelin sheath
Insulates the axon and speeds up transmission
Autonomic nervous system
Controls the involuntary, unconscious internal functions of the body that keep you alive without any conscious effort
Amygdala
Processing fear, emotional responses
Temporal
Auditory info, primary auditory cortex
Absolute threshold
Smallest stimulus intensity detected half the time
Cones
Color vision and fine detail
Oval window
Transfers vibrations into fluid within the cochlea
Synapse
Sympathetic divison
Fight or flight (heart racing when frightened for example)
Medulla
Regulates breathing and heart rate (brain stem)
Difference threshold
Smallest detectable change between two stimuli
Rods
Vision in dim light
Primary auditory cortex
Located in the temporal lobe
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers released into the synapse, bind to matching receptor site on next neuron
Parasympathetic division
Returns body toward resting state
Gestalt psychology
Perceiving an object as whole rather than unrelated pieces
Sharp central vision
Blind spot
Where optic nerve exits the retina