Psych Ch. 2

No

Does heritability apply to individuals?

No

Does heritability trump environment?

Epinephrine

Emotional arousal, memory storage, and metabolism of glucose necessary for energy release

Temporal lobes

Hearing, language, comprehension, memory, and some emotional control

Any cell that will listen

Hormone messages are carried by the blood to whom?

10 meters/second

How fast nerve impulses move?

10x

How many times faster nerve impulses move with myelin sheath?

Grasping reflex

If a finger or object is placed into infant's palm, the infant will grasp it

Stem cells

Immature cells that have the potential to de slip into almost any type of cell, depending on the chemical signals they receive

Norepinephrine

Learning, memory, dreaming, emotion, waking from sleep, eating, alertness, wakefulness, reactions to stress

Rooting reflex

Light stroking of the cheek and infant automatically turns toward stimulus and attempts to latch

Babinksi reflex

Lightly stroking the foot stimulates the big toe to point toward the top while the other toes fan out

Axon

Long, tube-like structure that conveys impulses away from a neuron's cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands

Neurogenesis

Lost cells can be replaced by neural stem cells

Norepinephrine

Low levels of _____ is associated with depression while high levels of it is linked with agitated, manic states

Serotonin

Low levels of ______ is associated with depression

Sympathetic division

Mobilizes energy to respond to stressor (fight or flight)

Endorphins

Mood, pain, memory, learning, blood pressure, appetite, and sexual activity

Serotonin

Mood, sleep, appetite, sensory perception, arousal, temperature regulation, pain suppression, and impulsivity

Dopamine

Movement, attention, memory, learning, and emotion, also plays a role in addiction and the reward system

Acetylcholine

Muscle action, learning, memory, REM sleep, emotion

Endocrine system

Network of glands located throughout the body that manufacture and secrete hormones into the blood stream

GABA

Neural inhibition in the CNS

fMRI

New faster version of MRI used to detect blood flow, which areas of the brain are active and inactive during ordinary behaviors and changes associated with various disorders

Brainstem

Oldest part and central core of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions

Terminal buttons

Part of the axon forming junctions with with other cells, releasing chemicals/neurotransmitters

Amygdala

Part of the lambic system, 2 Lima-bean-sized neural clusters linked to aggression and fear (fight or flight)

Hypothalamus

Part of the limbic system, helps govern body maintenance of eating, drinking, temperature, endocrine system, etc., linked to emotion and reward

Hippocampus

Part of the limbic system, processes conscious memories

Natural selection

Particular genetic trait gives an organism a reproductive advantage

90%

Percent of glial cells that make up the brains total cells

MRI

Powerful electromagnets produce a high frequency magnetic field that passes through the brain and is used in order to produce high-resolution 3-D images if brain to identify abnormalities and mapping brain structures and function

Glial cells

Provide structure, nutrition, and other support to neurons

Frontal lobes

Receive and coordinate messages from other lobes

Parietal lobes

Receive and interpret body sensations

Endocrine system

Regulates and maintains long-term body processes, such as growth, sexual characteristics, digestion, and elimination

Adrenal glands

Release cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Responsible for involuntary tasks like heart rate, digestion, and breathing

Neurons

Responsible for receiving, processing, and transmitting electrochemical information

Behavior genetics

Study of how heredity and environment affecf us

Antagonist drug

Substance that black normal neurotransmitter functioning

Cerebral cortex

Surface layer of the brain responsible for most complex mental processes

Cerebellum

The "little brain," processes sensory input and coordinates movement and balance

1. Resting potential 2. Depolarization 3. Spreading of depolarization 4. Repolarization

The 4 steps of neuron communication

Evolutionary psychology

The application of principles of evolution to explain behavior and mental processes

Medulla

The base of the brain stem, controls heart beat and breathing

Neurons

The basic building black if the nervous system, responsible for receiving, processing, and transmitting electrochemical information

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize and change its structure and function throughout the life span

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard: directs messages and transmits replies

Evolutionary psychology

The branch of psychology that studies the application of the principles of evolution to explain behavior and mental processes

Glial cells

The cells that provide structural, nutritional, and other support for neurons, as well as communication, within the nervous system

Synapse

The gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite and/or cell body of the receiving neuron; during an action potential, neurotransmitters are released and flow across the synapse

Limbic system

The interconnected group of forebrain structures involved with emotions, drives, and memory, as well as major physiological functions

Myelin sheath

The layer of fatty insulation wrapped around the axon of some neurons that increase the rate at which neural impulses travel along the axon

Cell body

The part of a neuron that contains the cell nucleus and other structures that help the neuron carry out its functions

Broca's area

The part of the frontal libe that controls speech

Motor cortex

The part of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movement

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The part of the nervous system composed of the nerves and neurons connecting the CNS to the rest of the body

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The part of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord that carries info to and from the CNS and links the brain and spinal cord to body's sense receptors, muscles, and glands

Visual cortex

The part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information

Somatosensory cortex

The part of the parietal lobe that receive sensory messages

Wernicke's area

The part of the temporal lobe that is involved in language comprehension

Auditory cortex

The part of the temporal lobe that receives sensory information from the ears

Heritability

The percentage of variation in a population attributable to hereditary

Natural selection

The process by which heritable traits that increase an organism's chances of survival or reproduction are favored over less beneficial traits

Neurogenesis

The process by which new cells are generated

Behavioral genetics

The study of the relative effects of heredity and the environment in behavior and mental processes

Sympathetic nervous system

The subdivision of ANS that is responsible for arousing the body and mobilizing its energy during times of stress

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

The subdivision of the PNS that controls the body's involuntary motor responses by connecting the sensory receptors to the CNS and the CNS to the smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands

Parasympathetic nervous system

The subdivision of the the ANS that is responsible for calming the body and conserving energy

Natural selection

The term _______ refers to a process by which heritable traits that increase an organism's chances of survival or reproduction are favored over less beneficial traits

Corpus callosum

Thick band of nerves connecting the two hemispheres of the brain

GABA

Tranquilizing drugs like Valium increases _____ neurotransmitter's inhibitory effects thus increasing anxiety

Electrical recording

Uses electrodes attached to the skin or scalp to detect and record brain activity in order to reveal areas of the brain that are most active during particular tasks and mental states

Occipital lobes

Vision and visual perception

1. Memory 2. Learning 3. Appetite 4. Sexual activity

What is affected by endorphins?

Heritability

_____ is a measure of the degree to which a characteristic is related to genetic versus environmental factors

1. Neurotransmitters released at synapse 2. Neurotransmitters cross synaptic gap and bind at receptor sites across the synapse 3. Reputable of leftover neurotransmitters

3 Communication steps between neurons

1. Rooting reflex 2. Grasping reflex 3. Babinski reflex

3 newborn reflexes

Endorphins

A chemical substance in the nervous system similar in structure and action to opiates; involved in pain control, pleasure, and memory

Acetylcholine

A decreased amount of this neurotransmitter plays a suspected role in Alzheimer's disease

Reticular formation

A nerve network that plays a big role in arousal

Action potential

A neural impulse, or brief electrical charge, that carries information along the axon of a neuron; movement is generated when positively charged ions move in and out through channels in the axon's membrane

Action potential

A neural impulses that carries information along the axon of a neuron

PET scan

A radioactive form of glucose is injected in the bloodstream and a scanner records amount glucose used in active areas of the brain in order to reveal brain areas active during ordinary activities

Gene

A segment of DNA that occupies a specific place in a particular chromosome and carries the code for hereditary transmission

Heritability

A statistical formula that provides a percentage of variation in a population attributable to genetic factors rather than to differences in the environment

Somatic nervous system (SNS)

A subdivision of the PNS that connects the CNS to sensory receptors and controls skeletal muscles

Agonist drug

A substance that mimics and enhances a neurotransmitter's effect

Cell body

Aka soma, contains cell nucleus

Dopamine

An excess amount of this neurotransmitter is associated with schizophrenia while a decreased amount of this is linked with Parkinson's disease

Reflex

An innate automatic response to a stimulus that has a biological relevance for an organism

Reflex

Automatic behavior in response to stimuli

Neuroplasticity

Brain can recognize its function structure due to usage and experience

Dendrites

Branching fibers that receive impulses from other neurons and convey impulses to the cell body

Parasympathetic division

Calms body to conserve energy, returns body to normal function after stress

Somatic Nervous system (SNS)

Carries sensory information to the brain and instructions back to skeletal muscles

Hormone

Chemical messenger manufactured and secreted by the endocrine glands, which circulate in the bloodstream to produce bodily changes or maintain normal bodily functions

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that are released by axon's and travel across the synapse are called _____

Hormones

Chemicals manufactured by the endocrine glands and circulated in the bloodstream to change or maintain bodily functions

Endorphins

Common neurotransmitter that elevates mood and reduces pain

Chemical

Communication between neurons is ______

Electrical

Communication within the neuron is ______

CT scan

Computer-created cross-sectional x-rays of the brain and other parts of the body used to reveal the effects of strokes, injuries, tumors, and other brain disorders

Genes

Control transmission of traits

Frontal lobes

Controls motor control, speech, and higher functions

Endocrine system

Controls response to emergencies