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Psychology Ch. 2

Terms

undefined, object
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action vs. resting potential
a neural impulse (brief electric charge that travels down an axon)vs. when the cell is not conducting an impulse
agonist vs. antagonist chemicals
naturaly occuring vs. created
all-or-nothing law of nueral firing
once a neuron begins firing it can only firing at full charge there is no partial firing
androgyny
a condition of being neither clearly male or female; having characteristics of both
blood brain barrier
The barrier between brain blood vessels and brain tissues whose effect is to restrict what may pass from the blood into the brain
Broca's aphasia located in left frontal lobe
unable to control muscle movements in speech
Coral Gilligan's critique of Kholberg's theory
women value things differently; not lack of moral development
cortexes of the brain
visual, auditory, cerebral, motor
dendrite (purpose of)
the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
endocrine organs and hormones secreted by them
hypothalamus, thyroid gland, pituitary gland, parathyroids, adrenal glands (release norepinephrine and epinephrine), pancreas, ovary, and testis
endorphins
"morphine within" - natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
feral children
is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age
glial cells
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
hypothalamus
a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities and helps givern the endocrine system cia the pituitary gland
imaging techniques: PET, CAT, MRI, FMRI
takes pictures of the brain as the neurons are metabolizing (red areas = healthy, black = dead); slices of the brain from any angle (colorized c-ray from any degree); allign atomic particles with magnets to pick up energy they give off and to convert it t
L-dopa
A chemical related to dopamine that is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease
limbic system: structures and functions
amygdala (fear, rage), hippocampus (memory), pituitary gland (in charge of endocrine system), and hypothalamus (regulator)
major neurotransmitters (ACh, GABA, Serotonin, Dopamine, Glutemate, Norepinepheine)
Ach - enagle muscle action, learning, and memory (used with alzheimers), GABA - a major inhibitory neurotransmitter (linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia), Serotonin - affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal (depression), Dopamine - influences movem
myelin sheath: where and purpose?
a layer of fatty tissue segmentall encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly grater transmisson speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
nervous system: major parts
peripheral nervous system; central nervous system
neuron: three basic parts
dendrite, axon, myelin sheath
occipital lobe
the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field
pancreas
regulates the level of sugar in the blood
phenylketonuria (PKU)
is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder which can cause problems with brain development
pineal gland (why unique)
small endocrine gland in the brain; produces melatonin which regulates sleeping patterns
pituitary gland
the endocrine system's most influential glad; reulates growth and controls the endocrine glands
plasticity
the brain's capacity for modification
reflex arc
the neural pathway that mediates a reflex action
reticular formation: related to sleep, arousal, attention
a nerve network in the brain that plays an important role in controlling arousal
role of hypothalamus: water balance
lets us know when we are thirsty
somatosensory cortex: location and used for what sense?
a sensory system that detects experiences labelled as touch or pressure, temperature (warm or cold), pain (including itch and tickle), as well as proprioception, which is the sensations of muscle movement and joint position including posture, movement, v
Tay-Sachs disease
genetic disorder; The disease occurs when harmful quantities of a fatty acid derivative called a ganglioside accumulate in the nerve cells of the brain
thalamus (what sense doesn't get routed through here)
relay station for sensory information to all other parts of the brain for further processing; EXCEPT SMELL
thyroid gland
controls how quickly the body burns energy, makes proteins, and how sensitive the body should be to other hormones
Turner's syndrome (x with missing chromosome)
Instead of the normal XX sex chromosomes for a female, only one X chromosome is present and fully functional
Wernicke's aphasia located in left temporal lobe
inability to comprehend langauage and expression
what part of brain do we share with animals, how do we differ?
hindbrain; frontal lobes
Wilder Penfield's research on the brain
he treated patients with severe epilepsy by destroying nerve cells in the brain where the seizures originated; allowed him to create maps of the sensory and motor cortices of the brain

Deck Info

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