Biopsychology
Pons
A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain
peripheral nervous system
A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord.
Cerebellum
A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.
Amygdala
A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.
heritability coefficient.
A measure of the strength of the relationship between individual differences in a given trait and individual genetic differences is called the
Hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.
Hypothalamus
A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
frontal lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement
parietal lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch.
Midbrain
A small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward.
receptors
Agonists and antagonists mimic or impede neurotransmitters by binding to ________.
substantia nigra
An area of the midbrain that is involved in motor control and contains a large concentration of dopamine-producing neurons
a fraction of an inch to several feet
Axons range in length from __________ to _________.
Borca's area
Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
difficulty speaking
Damage to Broca's area may cause
sodium
During action potential, positively charged ________ ions move inside the cell.
10,000
Each synaptic vesicle contains about __________ neurotransmitter molecules.
hypothalamus and pituitary gland
Hormones are involved in regulating all sorts of bodily functions, and they are ultimately controlled through interactions between the ____________ (in the central nervous system) and the ____________ ___________ (in the endocrine system)
Athletes who win their events may experience elevated testosterone levels and elevated sex drives.
It has been rumored that Olympic athletes living at the Olympic Village have lots of sex with each other. What is one possible explanation for this behavior?
synaptic vesicles
Membrane-bounded compartments in which synthesized neurotransmitters are kept.
is routed through the limbic system.
One reason smells often evoke memories is that the sense of smell
Neurotransmitter
Psychotropic medications are drugs that treat psychiatric symptoms by restoring ________ balance.
endocrine system; hormones
The _______ ________ consists of a series of glands that produce chemical substances known as _________.
Amygdala
The ________ is involved in our experience of emotion and tying emotional meaning to our memories.
somatic
The ________ nervous system is involved in the relay of sensory and motor information to the central nervous system.
sympathetic
The ________ nervous system is responsible for responses such as pupil dilation, increased heart rate, and increased respiration.
cerebral cortex
The ________ plays an important role in higher-level thinking and decision making.
axon hillock
The conical region of a neuron's axon where it joins the cell body; is typically the region where nerve signals are generated.
cerebral cortex
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.
separates the brain into two hemispheres
The longitudinal fissure
Depolarization
The process during the action potential when sodium is rushing into the cell causing the interior to become more positive.
membrane potential
The voltage across a cell's plasma membrane.
they fall
What happens to testosterone levels of those who lose chess tournaments?
an electroencephalograph (EEG)
Which type of brain imaging is especially helpful in the study of sleep disorders?
range of reaction
________ asserts that our genes set the boundaries within which we can operate, and our environment interacts with our genes to determine where within those boundaries we will fall.
Action potential
________ is the electrical signal that typically moves from the cell body down the axon to the axon terminals.
glial cells; neurons
________, which play a supportive role in the nervous system, vastly outnumber ________.
Sensory nerves; motor nerves
__________ _________ bring messages in; __________ _________ send messages out to the muscles and organs.
Glial cells
___________ __________ provide scaffolding on which the nervous system is built, help neurons align, transport nutrients and waste products, and mediate immune responses.
Sodium (Na+); Potassium (K+)
_____________ is in higher concentrations outside the cell; _____________ is more concentrated inside the cell
adoption study
a behavior genetic research method that involves comparison of adopted children to their adoptive and biological parents
twin studies
a behavior genetic research method that involves comparison of the similarity of identical (monozygotic; MZ) and fraternal (dizygotic; DZ) twins
ventral tegmental area
a group of dopamine-containing neurons located in the midbrain whose axons project to the forebrain, especially the nucleus accumbens and cortex
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
a method of brain imaging that assesses metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance injected into the bloodstream
reticular formation
a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in regulating sleep, arousal, motor activity
action potential
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
CT scan (computerized tomography)
a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body
resting potential
a state of readiness where, like a rubber band stretched out and waiting to spring into action, ions line up on either side of the cell membrane
synaptic cleft
a very small space between two neurons where communication between neurons occurs.
motor cortex (in frontal lobe)
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
hereditary coefficient
an easily misinterpreted statistical construct that purports to measure the role of genetics in the explanation of differences among individuals
somatosensory cortex
area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
motor cortex
area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain
Hormone
chemical messenger released by endocrine gland
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
connects the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, organs and senses in the periphery of the body
Wernicke's area
damage to _________ ___________ can produce sensible language, but they are unable to understand it.
Four lobes of the brain
frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
Nodes of Ranvier
gaps in the myelin sheath
temporal lobe function
hearing, smell, memory
old brain
hindbrain and midbrain
frontal lobe function
involved in motor function: speaking, planning, problem solving, memory, judgment, impulse control
somatic nervous system
is associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary
threshold of excitation
level of charge in the membrane that causes the neuron to become active
Hindbrain
medulla, pons, cerebellum
limbic system
neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives...and smells
limbic system
neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives
semipermeable membrane
neuron's outer surface is made up of a ________ _______ which allows smaller molecules and molecules without an electrical charge to pass through it.
sympathetic nervous system
prepares the body for action or "stress-related activities."
Receptors
proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters attach. They vary in shape, with different shapes "matching" different neurotransmitters.
Phineas Gage
railroad worker who survived a severe brain injury that dramatically changed his personality and behavior; case played a role in the development of the understanding of the localization of brain function
parasympathetic nervous system
rest and digest
pituitary gland
secretes a number of key hormones, which regulate fluid levels in the body, and a number of messenger hormones, which direct the activity of other glands in the endocrine system
Pancreas
secretes hormones that regulate blood sugar (insulin and glucagon)
Thyroid
secretes hormones that regulate growth, metabolism, and appetite
Gonads
secretes sexual hormones, which are important for successful reproduction, and mediate both sexual motivation and behavior
adrenal glands
sit atop our kidneys and secretes hormones involved in the stress response
parietal lobe function
somatic sensory processing; sense of touch body position
Functional MRI (fMRI)
technique that uses magnetic fields to visualize brain activity using changes in blood oxygen level
auditory cortex
the area of the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound information
terminal buttons; synaptic vesicles; neurotransmitters
the axon ends at multiple ________ _______. The terminal buttons contain ________ ________ that house ___________.
Medulla
the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing
endocrine system
the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Thalamus
the brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
gyri and sulci (gyrus and sulcus in singular)
the cerebral cortex is very uneven and characterized by a distinctive pattern of folds or bumps, known as ________ and grooves, known as ______.
somatic nervous system
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles; associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary
behavioral genetics
the empirical science of how genes and environments combine to generate behavior
prefrontal cortex
the frontmost portion of the frontal lobes, especially prominent in humans; important for attention, working memory, decision making, appropriate social behavior, and personality
corpus callosum
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
autonomic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
occipital lobe
vision, perception
soma, dendrites, axons, terminal buttons, and synaptic vesicles
what are the neuron's specialized structures?