Psychology ch. 2

Ions

Ions are charged particles. Inside neuron - negatively charged. Outside neuron - positively charged.

Corpus callosum

- thick band of neurons that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres.

What is the endocrine system - what is the main purpose/function of it

Made up of numerous glands that are located throughout the body. Glands secrete various chemicals called hormones, telling your body to do stuff

Parts of neurons

Dendrites - branch-like structures that receive messages from other neurons. branchlike extensions that arise from the cell body -receive signals from other neurons, muscles, or sense organs Soma - the cell body of the neuron, responsible for maintaining the life of the cell. Axon - long tube-like structure that carries the neural message to other cells. a single threadlike structure that extends from and carries signals away from the cell body to neighboring neurons, organs, or muscles Myelin Sheath-Fatty material that wraps around and insulates the axon. Multiple Sclerosis - disease that attacks the myelin sheath End bulbs or Terminal bulbs-located at extreme ends of the axon's branches, miniature container that stores chemicals called neurotransmitters (used to communicate with neighboring cells) Synapse- Small space between the terminal buttons and neighboring organ, exists between and end bulb and its adjacent body organ, heart, muscles, or cell body

Excitatory vs inhibitory transmitters

Excitatory neurotransmitter - neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to fire. Inhibitory neurotransmitter - neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to stop firing.

Lobes of the brain

Frontal lobe(front most lobe forehead) involved with personality, emotions, and motor behaviors(middle of head- side) Parietal lobe involved with perception and sensory experiences Occipital lobe(back of the head, lower) involved with visual processing Temporal lobe (closest to ear, bottom) involved with hearing and speaking

Groups of cells in the brain

Glial cells - grey fatty cells that: provide support for the neurons to grow on and around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, Myelin - fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coat the axons of neurons to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse. clean up waste products and dead neurons.

Divisions of the brain

Pons functions as a bridge to interconnect messages between the spinal cord and brain Medulla located on top of the spinal cord includes a group of cells that control vital reflexes, such as respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure Cerebellum located in the very back and underneath the brain involved in coordinating motor movements but not in initiating voluntary movements

Parasympathetic/ Sympathetic nervous systems

Sympathetic division (fight-or-flight system) - part of the ANS that is responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal. Parasympathetic division - part of the ANS that restores the body to normal functioning after arousal and is responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the organs and glands.

Broca's area

condition resulting from damage to Broca's area (usually in left frontal lobe), causing the affected person to be unable to speak fluently, to mispronounce words, and to speak haltingly. person cannot speak in fluent sentences but can understand written and spoken words

Function of hippocampus

curved structure inside the temporal lobe Involved in saving many kinds of fleeting memories by putting them into permanent storage in various parts of the brain

Neurons -

the basic cell that makes up the nervous system and which receives and sends messages within that system.

fMRI

functional magnetic resonance imaging measures the activity of specific neurons that are functioning during cognitive tasks, such as thinking, listening or reading. Very detailed views of structures and functions inside the brain

What is the 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).

MRI

magnetic resonance imagery involves passing nonharmful radio frequencies through the brain Computer measures how these signals interact with the brain cells and transforms the interaction into detailed images of the brain

Central nervous system

part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord. Spinal cord - a long bundle of neurons that carries messages to and from the body to the brain that is responsible for very fast, lifesaving reflexes. Brain - makes sense of the information received from the senses, makes decisions, sends out commands to rest of the body

PET scans

positron emission tomography involves injecting a slightly radioactive solution into the blood and then measuring the amount of radiation absorbed by brain cells called neurons

All or nothing rule

referring to the fact that a neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all. Return to resting potential.

Hypothalamus - function

regulates many motivational behaviors, including eating, drinking, and sexual responses; emotional behaviors such as arousing the body when fighting or fleeing, and secretion of hormones, such as occurs at puberty

What is the resting state of a neuron

the axon has a charge the charge results from the axon membrane separating positive ions on the outside from negative ions on the inside

What happens to the ion during the action potential ( short answer) be able to tell what happens to the charge of the ion before and after

the axon membrane has chemical gates that can open to allow electrically charged particles to enter or can close to keep out these particles during active potential the axon allows ions to enter the axon causing an enormous increase in sodium ions causing the axon to reverse its charge. Therefore, inside becomes positive and outside becomes negative

What happens during action potential

the release of the neural impulse consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon. tiny electric current that is generated when the positive sodium ions rush inside the axon enormous increase of sodium ions inside the axon causes the inside of the axon to reverse its charge inside becomes positive and outside becomes negative