Biological Bases of Behavior

Question 1

dendrites

Answer 1

rootlike parts of the cell that stretch out from cell body. They grow to make synpatic connections with other neurons.

Question 2

cell body

Answer 2

contains the nucleus to sustain life

Question 3

axon

Answer 3

wirelike structure in the terminal buttons that extends from the cell body

Question 4

myelin sheath

Answer 4

fatty covering around axon of some neurons that speeds neural impulses

Question 5

terminal buttons

Answer 5

branched end of axon that contains neurotransmitters

Question 6

neurotransmitters

Answer 6

chemicals contained in terminal buttons that enable neurons to communicate. They fit onto receptor sites of dendrites on neurons like “a key fits onto a lock”.

Question 7

How does a neuron fire?

Answer 7

The neuron has an overall slightly negative charge and positive charge in the nucleus. The terminal buttons release neurotransmitters and fit onto another cell’s dendrites. If enough neurotransmitters are received, then the cell membrane becomes permeable and positive ions rush into the cell (action potential).

Question 8

all-or-none principle

Answer 8

a neuron either fires completely or it does not fire at all

Question 9

sensory neurons

Answer 9

take information from senses to the brain

Question 10

interneurons

Answer 10

take information from brain to motor neurons

Question 11

motor neurons

Answer 11

take information from brain to rest of body

Question 12

central nervous system

Answer 12

composes of spinal cord and brain, and all of the nerves within the bone

Question 13

peripheral nervous system

Answer 13

consists of all the other nerves in your body and is composed of the somatic and autonomic nervous system

Question 14

somatic nervous system

Answer 14

voluntary movements

Question 15

autonomic nervous system

Answer 15

automatic functions of body; heart, lungs, organs, etc. It is composed of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 16

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 16

responds to stress; alert system of body. It accelerates functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and respiration

Question 17

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 17

calms down body after stress response to normal state

Question 18

lesioning

Answer 18

removal or destruction of part of brain; for example, may be useful for removal of tumor. Often changes behavior.

Question 19

Who is Phineas Gage and what happened?

Answer 19

Gage damaged his front part of his brain, and his behavior and personality changed completely after the accident.

Question 20

EEG

Answer 20

sends brain waves; good for determining states of consciousness

Question 21

CAT Scan

Answer 21

sophisticated X-ray that is a three-dimensional picture of brain’s structure.

Question 22

MRI

Answer 22

takes detailed images of brain to indicate structure of brain

Question 23

PET Scan

Answer 23

measures how much of a certain chemical parts of the brain are using to show function

Question 24

fMRI

Answer 24

combines MRI and PET scans to show function and structure

Question 25

hindbrain

Answer 25

consists of top part of spinal cord. This is our life support system; controls basic biological functions to keep us alive. Consists of medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

Question 26

medulla

Answer 26

controls blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

Question 27

pons

Answer 27

involved in facial expressions

Question 28

cerebellum

Answer 28

coordinates habitual muscle movements

Question 29

midbrain

Answer 29

coordinates simple movements with sensory information; contains reticular formation

Question 30

forebrain

Answer 30

controls thought and reason; also includes thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus (limbic system)

Question 31

thalamus

Answer 31

receives sensory signals from spinal cord and sends them to rest of forebrain

Question 32

hypothalamus

Answer 32

controls metabolic functions, such as body temperature, sexual arousal (libido), hunger, thirst and endocrine system

Question 33

amygdala

Answer 33

vital for emotions

Question 34

hippocampus

Answer 34

memories are encoded here for permanent storage

Question 35

cerebral cortex

Answer 35

gray, wrinkled surface that has densely packed neurons. It increases available surface area, hence why it is wrinkled

Question 36

contralateral control

Answer 36

right hemisphere gets sensory messages and controls motor function of left half of body; and vice versa

Question 37

brain lateralization/hemispheric specialization

Answer 37

the left hemisphere controls logic and sequential tasks, and the right hemisphere preforms spatial and creative tasks.

Question 38

association area

Answer 38

located in the cerebral cortex; controls muscle movements and human thoughts and behaviors

Question 39

prefrontal cortex

Answer 39

in the frontal lobe; plays a critical role for foreseeing consequences, pursuing goals, and maintaining emotional control

Question 40

Broca's area

Answer 40

in the frontal lobe; responsible for controlling muscles involved in speech

Question 41

Wernicke's area

Answer 41

in temporal lobe; responsible for language development and comprehension of speech

Question 42

motor cortex

Answer 42

in frontal lobe; controls voluntary movements in feet and toes

Question 43

parietal lobes

Answer 43

contains sensory cortex, which receives incoming touch sensations. Located behind frontal lobe.

Question 44

occipital lobes

Answer 44

located at very back of brain; contains visual cortex

Question 45

temporal lobes

Answer 45

process sound from our ears; contains Wernicke's area

Question 46

adrenal glands

Answer 46

produce adrenaline, which signals rest of body to prepare for flight or fight. Involved in autonomic nervous system

Question 47

reticular formation

Answer 47

regulates sleep-wake cycle and filters incoming stimuli to discover what is important

Question 48

Acetylcholine

Answer 48

Involved with motor movement; lack of ACh is associated with Alzheimer's disease

Question 49

Dopamine

Answer 49

Involved with motor movement and alertness; lack of dopamine is associated with Parkinson's disease and overabundance of dopamine is associated with schizophrenia

Question 50

Endorphins

Answer 50

function is pain control; involved with addictions

Question 51

Serotonin

Answer 51

involved with mood control; lack of serotonin is associated with clinical depression