[Ch.3] Brain and Behaviour

Question 1

Absolute refractory period

Answer 1

The brief period of time following an action potential when the ion channel is unable to respond again

Question 2

Action potential

Answer 2

The electrical signal that passes along the axon and subsequently causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons

Question 3

All-or-none principle

Answer 3

The principle that when a neuron fires, it fires with the same potency each time; a neuron either fires or not, although the frequency of firing can vary

Question 4

Amygdala

Answer 4

A brain strucure that serves a vital role in learning to associate things with emotional responses and in processing emotional information

Question 5

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Answer 5

A component of the peripheral nervous system - it transmits sensory signals and motor signals between the central nervous system and the body’s glands and internal organs

Question 6

Axon

Answer 6

A long, narrow outgrowth of a neuron by which information is conducted from the cell body to the terminal buttons

Question 7

Basal ganglia

Answer 7

A system of subcortical structures that are important for the planning and production of movements

Question 8

Brain stem

Answer 8

An extension of the spinal cord - it houses structures that control functions associated with survival… such as heart rate, breathing, swallowing, vomiting, urination, and orgasm

Question 9

Broca’s area

Answer 9

A small portion of the left frontal region of the brain, crucial for the production of language

Question 10

Cell body

Answer 10

The site in the neuron where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and integrated

Question 11

Central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 11

The brain and the spinal cord

Question 12

Cerebellum

Answer 12

A large, convoluted protuberance at the back of the brain stem - it is essential for coordinated movement and balance

Question 13

Cerebral cortex

Answer 13

The outer layer of brain tissue, which forms the convoluted surface of the brain - the site of all thoughts, perceptions, and complex behaviours

Question 14

Corpus callosum

Answer 14

A massive bridge of millions of axons that connects the hemispheres of the brain and allows information to flow between them

Question 15

Dendrites

Answer 15

Branchlike extensions of the neuron that detect information from other neurons

Question 16

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Answer 16

A technique for measuring electrical activity in the brain

Question 17

Frontal lobes

Answer 17

Regions of the cerebral cortex (at the front of the brain) important for movement and higher-level psychological processes associated with the prefrontal cortex

Question 18

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 18

An imagine technique used to examine changes in the activity of the working human brain by measuring changes in the blood’s oxygen levels

Question 19

Hippocampus

Answer 19

A brain structure that is associated with the formation of memories

Question 20

Hypothalamus

Answer 20

A brain structure that is involved in the regulation of bodily functions including body temperature, body rhythms, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels - it also influences our basic motivated behaviours

Question 21

Insula

Answer 21

The part of the cerebral cortex lying inside the lateral fissure - important for taste, pain, perception of bodily stated, and empathy

Question 22

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Answer 22

A method of brain imaging that uses a powerful magnetic field to produce high-quality images of the brain

Question 23

Myelin sheath

Answer 23

A fatty material, made up of glial cells, that insulates some axons to allow for faster movement of electrical impulses along the axon

Question 24

Neurons

Answer 24

Basic unties of the nervous system - receive, integrate, and transmit information
Operate through electrical impulses, communicate with other neurons through chemical signals, and form neural networks

Question 25

Neurotransmitters

Answer 25

Chemical substances that transmit signals from one neuron to another

Question 26

Nodes of Ranvier

Answer 26

Small gaps of exposed axon between the segments of myelin sheath, where action potentials take place

Question 27

Occipital lobes

Answer 27

Regions of the cerebral cortex (back of brain) - important for vision

Question 28

Parietal lobes

Answer 28

Regions of cerebral cortex (in front of occipital lobe and behind frontal lobe) - important for sense of touch and for attention to the environment

Question 29

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Answer 29

All nerve cells in the body that are not part of the central nervous system The peripheral nervous system includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems

Question 30

Plasticity

Answer 30

A property of the brain that allows it to change as a result of experience or injury

Question 31

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Answer 31

A method of brain imaging that assesses metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance injected into the bloodstream

Question 32

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 32

The frontmost portion of the frontal lobe, especially prominent in humans - important for attention, working memory, decision making, appropriate social behaviour, and personality

Question 33

Receptors

Answer 33

In neurons, specialized protein molecules on the postsynaptic membrane - neurotransmitters bind to these molecules after passing across the synapse

Question 34

Relative refractory period

Answer 34

The brief period of time following action potential when a neuron's membrane potential is more negative, or hyperpolarized, making it harder to fire again

Question 35

Resting membrane potential

Answer 35

The electrical charge of a neuron when it is not active

Question 36

Reuptake

Answer 36

The process whereby a neurotransmitter is taken back into the presynaptic terminal buttons, thereby stopping its activity

Question 37

Somatic nervous system (SNS)

Answer 37

A component of the peripheral nervous system - it transmits sensory signals and motor signals between the central nervous system and skin, muscles, and joints

Question 38

Split brain

Answer 38

A condition that occurs when the corpus callosum is surgically cut and the two hemispheres of the brain do not receive information directly from each other

Question 39

Synapse

Answer 39

The gap between the terminal buttons of a "sending" neuron and the dendrites of a "receiving" neuron, where chemical communication occurs between the neurons

Question 40

Temporal lobes

Answer 40

Region of cerebral cortex (below parietal lobe and in front of occipital lobe) - important for processing auditory information, for memory, and for object and face perception

Question 41

Terminal buttons

Answer 41

At the ends of axons, small nodules that release chemical signals from the neuron into the synapse

Question 42

Thalamus

Answer 42

The gateway to the brain - it receives almost all incoming sensory information before that information reaches the cortex

Question 43

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Answer 43

The use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions