Chapter 2.1 Neural and Hormonal Systems

Question 1

The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Answer 1

Biological Psychology

Question 2

The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

Answer 2

Neuroplasiticity

Question 3

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Answer 3

Neuron

Question 4

The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life-support center

Answer 4

Cell Body

Question 5

A neuron’s. often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.

Answer 5

Dendrite

Question 6

The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branched to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

Answer 6

Axon

Question 7

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.

Answer 7

Myelin Sheath

Question 8

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

Answer 8

Glial Cells

Question 9

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Answer 9

Action Potential

Question 10

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Answer 10

Threshold

Question 11

A brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state

Answer 11

Refractory Period

Question 12

A neuron’s reaction of either firing (will a full-strength response) or not firing.

Answer 12

All-or-Nothing Response

Question 13

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Answer 13

Synapse

Question 14

The tiny gap at the synapse

Answer 14

Synaptic Gap/Synaptic Cleft

Question 15

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

Answer 15

Neurotransmitters

Question 16

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Answer 16

Reuptake

Question 17

Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Answer 17

Endorphins

Question 18

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

Answer 18

Agonist

Question 19

A molecule that decreases a neurotransmitter’s function

Answer 19

Antagonist

Question 20

A neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Answer 20

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Question 21

A neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion.

Answer 21

Dopamine

Question 22

A neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal

Answer 22

Serotonin

Question 23

A neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal

Answer 23

Norepinephrine

Question 24

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Answer 24

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Question 25

A major excitatory neurotransmitter, involved in memory

Answer 25

Glutamate

Question 26

The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Answer 26

Nervous System

Question 27

The brain and spinal cord

Answer 27

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Question 28

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Answer 28

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Question 29

Bundles axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs

Answer 29

Nerves

Question 30

Neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Answer 30

Sensory Neurons

Question 31

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Answer 31

Motor Neurons

Question 32

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Answer 32

Interneurons

Question 33

The division of the PNS that controls the body’s skeletal muscles.

Answer 33

Somatic (Skeletal) Nervous System

Question 34

The part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart).

Answer 34

Autonomic Nervous System

Question 35

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing it’s energy

Answer 35

Sympathetic Nervous System

Question 36

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Answer 36

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Question 37

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus

Answer 37

Reflex

Question 38

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Answer 38

Endocrine System

Question 39

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

Answer 39

Hormones

Question 40

A pair of endocrine glands that sits just above the kidneys and secretes hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress

Answer 40

Adrenal Glands

Question 41

The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Answer 41

Pituitary Gland