intro to psych chapter 2

glial cells

provide physical and metabolic supportto neurons; communicate with other cells; specific types have stem cell-like properties

Which gland(s) have the greatest influence over other components of the endocrine system?

Pituitary

Pancreas

Regulates the level of sugar in the blood (insulin and glucagon)

pineal gland

secretes melatonin

computed tomography (CT) scan

based on X-ray technology; good for imaging brain structure, especially when there is metal in the bod

What is the process whereby the structure and function of brain cells change in response to trauma, damage, or even learning?

neuroplasticity

Which part of the neuron carries messages to other cells?

axon

adreanal glands

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys; they secrete the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine which help to arouse the body in times of stress

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

-has good temporal but relatively poor spatial resolution; records the electrical activity of the brain through the use of scalp electrodes; both spontaneous activity and event-related potentials (ERP) can be studied -activity can be classified according to frequency and morphology; traditional bands include delta, theta, alpha, and beta

Lesioning studies

-study animals or humans with brain damage; damage may be by accident, injury, or in animals, deliberate; lesioning is an invasive technique -brain areas can be studied according to the location of lesions (injured or destroyed areas)

the association areas of the cortex devoted to making connections between incoming sensory information and stored memories, images, & knowledge; damage to right association areas can result in spatial neglect where individual fails to recognize the left side of the visual field

Broca's Area: found in left fontal lobe; coordinates brain areas responsible for speech production; damage to this area can result in Broca's aphasia Wernicke's Area: found in the left temporal lobe; plays a role in understanding the meaning of words

Which of the following techniques involves passing a mild current through the brain to activate certain structures without damaging them?

Electrical stimulation of the brain

The neurons of the sensory pathway contain

The neurons of the sensory pathway contain afferent neurons.

nervous system

a network of cells that carries information to and from all parts of the body

The venom of a black widow spider acts as a(n) ______ by mimicking the effects of acetylcholine.

agonist

If you were to develop a rare condition in which you were not able to remember to be afraid of certain situations, animals, or events, which part of the brain would most likely be damaged?

amyglada

central nervous system

consists of the brain and spinal cord

What part of the brain can sometimes be referred to as the "rind" or outer covering?

cortex

Which of the following is associated with pain relief?

endorphins

Which one of the following is NOT a function of glial cells?

generating action potentials

pituitary gland

gland located in the brain that secretes human growth hormone and influences all other hormone-secreting glands (also known as the master gland).

spinal cord

long bundle of neurons that carries information to and away from the brain; helps control pain response. spinal cord reflexes involve several different neurons (sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons) spinal reflexes enable fast, often lifesaving, actions that do not require conscious thought

Hindbrain

medulla: Part of the hindbrain that controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing. pons: Part of the hindbrain that relays messages between the cerebellum and the cortex cerebellum: Part of the hindbrain that controls balance and maintains muscle co-ordination. reticular formation:

When a neuron's resting potential is occurring, the neuron is ______ charged on the inside

negatively

gonads

ovaries and testes (sex glands)

functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

uses near-infrared light to measure cortical blood oxygen levels

frontal lobe

areas of the brain located in the front and top, responsible for higher mental pro- cesses and decision making as well as the production of fluent speech.

temporal lobe

areas of the cortex located along the side of the brain, starting just behind the tem- ples, containing the neurons responsible for the sense of hearing and meaningful speech.

brain stimulation studies

brain areas can also be studied through electrical stimulation -invasive: deep brain stimulation (DBS); optogenetics -noninvasive: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS); transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Which of the following techniques analyzes blood oxygen levels to look at the functioning of the brain?

fMRI

Functional MRI (fMRI)

images brain function through tracking changes in blood oxygen levels; increase in oxygen levels associated with increased functioning

limbic system

involved in emotions, memory, learning, & motivation thalamus: Part of the forebrain that relays information from sensory organs to the cerebral cortex. hypothalamus: Part of the forebrain that regulates the amount of fear, thirst, sexual drive, and aggression we feel. hippocampus: Plays a role in our learning, memory, and ability to compare sensory information to expectations. amygdala: Influences our motivation, emotional control, fear response, and interpretations of nonverbal emotional expressions.

the cerebral hemisphere some brain functions governed by one hemisphere more than the other; differences found due to work of various researchers (e.g., split-brain studies)

left hemisphere specializes in tasks that involve sequence and analysis (language, speech, handwriting, math) right hemisphere processes information in a more global sense (perception; visualization; spatial perception; recognition of patterns, faces, and emotional expression)

In which of the following lobes of the cortex would you find the primary visual cortex?

occipital

older methods

often relied on dissection techniques after death unable to directly observe function

glands

organs in the body that secrete chemicals; some affect functioning ofthe body but not behavior; others have widespread influence on the body and behavior

oligodendrocytes

produce myelin in the central nervous system. -myelin insulates axonsand speeds up transmission of neural message

Schwann cells

produce myelin in the peripheral nervous system

thyroid gland

produces hormones that regulate metabolism, body heat, and bone growth

endocrine glands

secrete chemicals called hormones into bloodstream; affect behavior and emotions by influencing the activity of the brain and by controlling muscles and organs such as the heart, pancreas, and sex organs

occipital lobe

section of the brain located at the rear and bottom of each cerebral hemisphere containing the primary visual centers of the brain.

parietal lobe

sections of the brain located at the top and back of each cerebral hemisphere containing the centers for touch, tem- perature, and body position.

Types of somatic nervous system:

sensory pathway: sensory neuronscarrying information to spinal cord and/or brain motor pathway: nerves that carry information to voluntary skeletal muscles

peripheral nervous system

somatic nervous system: controls the voluntary muscles of the body autonomic nervous system: controls automatic functions of the body (organs, glands, involuntary muscles)

neurons

specialized cells in nervous system; send and receive messages within that system

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

superior spatial resolution for structure

Which of the following would be active if you have just had an automobile accident?

sympathetic division

autonomic nervous system

sympathetic division: "fight-or-flight" functions— reacts to stressful events and bodily arousal parasympathetic division: "eat-drink-and-rest" functions— restores body to normal functioning after arousal and is responsible for day-to-day functioning of glands and organs

Neurotransmitters must pass from an axon terminal to the next dendrite by crossing a fluid-filled space called the

synaptic gap.

Which brain structure relays incoming sensory information?

thalamus

Neuroscience

the field of study that deals with the structure of the brain and components of the nervous system

the cortex

the outermost, wrinkledlayer of the brain; comprisedof left and right hemispheres, connected by corpus callosum; each hemisphere can be further divided into four lobes frontal lobes, temporal lobes, parietal lobes, occipital lobes

brain

true core of nervous system: takes information from senses, processes it, brain makes decisions, sends commands to rest of body; exhibits a great deal of neuroplasticity; may also change through neurogenesis

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

used for imaging function; involves injection of a radioactive tracerthat binds to glucose, records activity of cells that use radioactive glucose