AP Psych Unit 3 Flashcards
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Neuron
The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life support center
Cell Body
A neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses towards the cell body.
Dendrites
The neuron’s extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
Axon
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.
Myelin Sheath
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking and memory.
Glial Cells
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
Action Potential
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
Threshold
In neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials can’t occur until the axon returns to its resting state
Refractory period
A neuron’s reaction of either firing (w full strength response) or not firing
All-or-None response
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.
Synapse
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, (?) travel across the synapse and bind to receptors sites in the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
Neurotransmitters
A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron.
Reuptake
Linked to pain control and to pleasure.
Endorphins
A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.
Agonist
Compound present as neurotransmitter; allows one to feel satisfaction and motivation
Dopamine
