Chapter 2

Sympathetic Division

The part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to deal with perceived threats.

Autonomic Division

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs.

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

This is the part of the nervous system that includes the autonomic and somatic subdivisions; made up of neurons with long axons and dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the extremities of the body.

Neurotransmitters

are chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of receiver neuron.

Hormones

are chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body.

Association Areas

are one of the major regions of the cerebral cortex; the site of the higher mental processes, such as thought, language, memory, and speech.

Lobes

are the four major sections of the cerebral cortex frontal (i.e. Broca's area), parietal, temporal (i.e. Wernicke's area), and occipital.

Endocrine System

is a chemical communication network that sends messages throughout the body via the bloodstreams.

Biofeedback

is a procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart, and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of particular muscles.

Hypothalmus

is a tiny part of the brain, located below the thalamus, that maintains homeostasis and produces and regulates vital behavior, such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior.

Cerebral Cortex

is the "new brain" responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain; contains lobes.

Central Core

is the "old brain" which controls basic functions such as eating and sleeping and is common to all vertebrates.

Pituitary Gland

is the major component of the endocrine system, or "master gland" which secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system.

Parasympathetic Division

is the part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to calm the body after an emergency has ended.

Reticular Formation

is the part of the brain extending from the medulla through the pons; it is related to changes in the level of arousal of the body.

Thalamus

is the part of the brain located in the middle of the central core thst acts primarily to relay information about senses.

The Limbic System

is the part of the brain that controls eating, aggression, and reproduction.

Cerebellum

is the part of the brain thst controls bodily balance.

Central Nervous System

is the part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord.

Somatic Division

is the part of the perpherial nervous system that specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of information to an from sense organs.

Synapse

is the space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages.

Sensory

neurons are neurons that transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the nervous system and brain.

Motor (efferent)

neurons communicate information from the brain and nervous system to muscles and glands.

Gamma-amino butyric acid

which is found in in both the brain and the spinal cord, appears to be the nervous system's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. It moderates a variety of behaviors ranging from eating to aggression.

Dopamine

which is involved in movement, attention, and learning.