Hereditary
The principle that the inherited traits enabling an organism to best survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
What is natural selection?
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
What is Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)?
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
What is Neuron?
Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment
What is consciousness?
The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
What is sensation?
Proposed that nature selects the genetic variations which help us to pass on our genes and survive in a given environment
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
What is motor (efferent) neurons?
Drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
What is Depressants?
Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus simultaneously
What is parallel processing?
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
The complete instructions for making an organism
What is genome?
Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system linked to emotion
What is Amygdala?
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues
Our biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle
What is circadian rhythm?
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of physical energy, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses the brain can interpret
The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor depends on another factor (such as heredity)
What is interaction?
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying behind the forehead; it is involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements.
What is Frontal Lobe?
Drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment
Proposed the wish fulfillment theory of dreaming, where subconscious, unacceptable feelings could be projected
What is Sigmunf Freud?
The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by constant minimum percentage
What is weber's law?
The field that studies how specific environments trigger or suppress genetic traits
What is Epigenetics?
A nerve network that travels travels through the brainstem into the thalamus; it filters information and plays a role in controlling arousal
What is Reticular Formation?
In neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state
A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings
What is sleep apnea?
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation
what is sensory adaptation?