Interaction of Heredity and Environment
Overview of the Nervous System
Neurons and Neural Firing
The Brain
Sleep/Sensation
100

This term refers to external factors like education, family interactions, and culture that shape behavior and mental processes.

What is the environment?

100

This part of the nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and interacts with all processes in the body.


What is the central nervous system?

100

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.


What is a neuron?


100

The “little brain”, located at the rear of the brainstem


What is the cerebellum?


100

Ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep that includes chronic tiredness and/or reliance on sleeping pills and alcohol. 


What is insomnia?

200

These types of studies compare identical twins, who share 100% of their genes, with fraternal twins to estimate heritability.

What are twin studies?

200

This part of the nervous system relays messages from the central nervous system to the rest of the body. 


What is the peripheral nervous system?

200

This type of neuron relays information from the spinal cord or the brain.


What are sensory neurons?


200

If a patient has trouble seeing certain shapes to the right side of a paper, in what hemisphere would the patient have experienced damage?

What is the Right Hemisphere?

200

Our internal biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle.


What is the circadian rhythm?


300

This term is used to describe the degree to which genetic factors contribute to the observed variation in a particular trait or characteristic within a population.


What is heritability?

300

The sympathetic nervous system controls this response.


What is Fight or Flight?


300

A soccer player kicks a ball after their brain sends a signal to their leg muscles. What type of neuron is responsible for delivering this signal?


What are motor neurons?

300

John Smith had damage to his brain that resulted in impairment of multiple senses. He most likely experienced damage to what part of the brain?

What is Thalamus?

300

When holding a cold drink, a person places their other hand on a warm object and suddenly feels a sensation of "hot." What sensory interaction is most likely responsible?


What is the activation of warm and cold receptors simultaneously?

400

This type of psychologist would investigate the reason many people have an innate fear of the dark.


What is an evolutionary psychologist?

400

The _______ ______ ____ is most directly involved in digesting food.


What is the autonomic nervous system?


400

If a neuron’s action potential threshold is not reached, this will happen to the signal.

What is the signal will not fire (all-or-nothing principle)?


400

Brain damage that leaves a person capable of understanding speech but with an impaired ability to produce speech most likely indicates injury to which part of the brain?


What is Broca’s area?


400

A person frequently stops breathing while sleeping, leading to fatigue and depression during the day. This condition is often associated with obesity and primarily affects men. What sleep disorder are they most likely experiencing?


What is sleep apnea?

500

This is the study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable.


What is eugenics?

500

The ___ ______ _______ ______ stops the Fight or Flight response and reverts the body back to normal.


What is the para sympathetic nervous system?


500

A person experiences muscle weakness and fatigue due to a disorder in which their immune system attacks the receptors on muscle cells. What condition is this?


What is myasthenia gravis?


500

In extreme cases, surgically severing the corpus callosum is a treatment for what condition?

What is Epilepsy?

500

After suffering brain damage, an individual can’t recognize familiar faces, including their own family members, despite being able to see them clearly. What condition are they most likely experiencing?


What is Prosopagnosia?