Chapter 3 Flashcards
(73 cards)
1
Q
central nervous system
A
brain & spinal cord
2
Q
peripheral nervous system
A
- all the other nerves in the body
- divided into somatic and autonomic (inside)
3
Q
3 types of neurons
A
sensory, motor, & interneurons
4
Q
sensory neurons
A
- detect info from world
- somatosensory provide info from skin and muscles
5
Q
motor neurons
A
direct muscles to contract/relax
6
Q
interneurons
A
communicate within short circuits
7
Q
parts of a neuron
A
dendrites, cell body, axon, and terminal buttons
8
Q
dendrites
A
short, branchlike appendages that detect chemical signals
9
Q
cell body
A
- aka soma
- collect & integrate info
10
Q
axon
A
- transmit signals
- can be really long
- covered in a myelin sheath
11
Q
terminal buttons
A
at the end of the axon
12
Q
synapse
A
gap where chemical communication occurs between neurons
13
Q
what is a neuron covered with
A
a semipermeable membrane that allows ions to travel through ion channels
14
Q
resting membrane potential
A
inside a neuron is slightly more negative than outside, so it’s polarized
15
Q
sodium potassium pump
A
increases potassium & decreases sodium within cell to maintain resting potential
16
Q
action potential
A
aka neural firing
electrical signal that passes along the axon
17
Q
types of chemical signals
A
excitatory (depolarize cell membrane by making inside more +) or inhibitory (increase polarization by making inside more -)
18
Q
what happens when a neuron fires
A
- sodium gates open–> sodium ions rush in and inside becomes +
- potassium gates open–> K rushes out and inside becomes even more +
- Na then K gates close, cell is even more - than normal
- K-Na pump restores resting state
19
Q
myelin sheath
A
insulates axons and allows signals to travel faster
made of glial cells
20
Q
nodes of Ranvier
A
small gaps of exposed axon between the sheath
21
Q
all or none principle
A
a neuron fires with the same potency each time or not at all
22
Q
what are the neurons that send/receive signals called
A
presynaptic sends and postsynaptic receives
23
Q
neurotransmitters
A
- made in axon, stored in vesicles in terminal buttons
- convey signals across synapses
24
Q
receptors
A
specialized protein molecules located on receiving membrane that respond to a specific neurotransmitter and can open or close ion channels
25
three major events that terminate a neurotransmitter's influence
reuptake, enzyme deactivation, or autoreception
26
reuptake
a neurotransmitter is taken back into the presynaptic terminal buttons
27
enzyme deactivation
an enzyme destroys a neurotransmitter
28
autoreceptors
monitor how much neurotransmitter has been released and detect excesses
29
agonist vs. antagonist
agonists are drugs that enhance actions of neurotransmitters by blocking reuptake or mimicking a neurotransmitter, antagonists inhibit them
30
epinephrine
- aka adrenaline
| - fuels fight or flight response
31
serotonin
- emotional states, impulse control, dreaming
| - lack of it causes depression
32
dopamine
- associated with motivation and reward
- fuels eating, drinking, and sex
- lack of it causes Parkinson's
33
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
- primary inhibitory neurotransmitter
| - lack of it causes anxiety and seizures
34
glutamate
- primary excitatory transmitter
| - excess causes seizures and destruction of neurons
35
endorphins
-defense against pain
36
Broca's area
left frontal region crucial for producing language
37
electroencephalograph (EEG)
- device that measures brain activity using electrodes
| - reflects all brain activity, so too noisy isolate specific responses
38
positron emission tomography (PET)
- inject a radioactive substance into the blood and see which brain areas receive increased blood flow
- can be dangerous
39
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
-powerful magnetic field disrupts brain's magnetism--> we can measure energy released from different brain tissues
40
fMRI
measures blood flow indirectly by assessing changes in oxygen level
41
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
uses fast and powerful magnetic field to disrupt brain activity momentarily in a specific region
42
gray vs. white matter
in the spinal cord: gray is neurons' cell bodies where white is axons and myelin sheaths
in the brain: gray is neuron bodies with nonmyelinated axons that only communicate locally, where white is the opposite
43
brain stem
- portion of spinal cord at the base of the skull
- consists of medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain
- control basic survival functions
- contains reticular formation=network of neurons affecting alertness and sleep
44
cerebellum
- large protuberance connected to back of brain stem
| - important for proper motor function and balance, muscle memory, etc.
45
forebrain
above brain stem and cerebellum, has a left and right hemisphere, contains cerebral cortex and subcortical regions
46
limbic system
- subcortical, links older and newer parts of the brain
| - includes hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and basal ganglia
47
thalamus
receives incoming sensory information, organizes it, and relays it to the cortex
48
hypothalamus
- master regulatory structure, regulates body temperature, blood pressure, and glucose levels
- also involved in motivation like thirst, aggression, and lust
49
hippocampus
- creates new memories by creating interconnections within cerebral cortex
- involved in how we remember spatially
50
amygdala
- emotional processing of stimuli, especially fear
- evaluates others' emotions
- strengthens memory of frightful events
51
basal ganglia
- system of subcortical structures used for planning, producing, and remembering movement
- contains nucleus accumbens which motivates behavior and experiences rewards
52
cerebral cortex
- outer, wrinkly layer of cerebral hemispheres
| - site of all thoughts, detailed perceptions, and complex behaviors
53
what are the 4 lobes
occipital, pareital, temporal, and frontal
54
corpus callosum
bridge between hemispheres
55
occipital lobes
- located at back of the head
- responsible for vision
- contains primary visual cortex
56
parietal lobes
- each one receives touch info from opposite side of the body
- contains a primary somatosensory cortex that groups nearby sensations
- this cortex is covered by a somatosensory homunculus, a distorted representation of the body
- also involved in attention
- hemineglect=one side is damaged so patients can't notice anything on the other side
57
temporal lobes
- hold primary auditory cortex
- specialized visual areas for recognizing faces (fusiform face area)
- hipppocampus and amygdala
58
frontal lobes
- planning and movement
- contains primary motor cortex that move muscles
- prefrontal cortex that is responsible for attention to ideas, social life, cultural norms, and a sense of self
59
lobotomy
damages prefrontal cortex and leaves patients emotionally flat and disconnected from social surroundings
60
split brain
- when hemispheres are cut, the right and left hemispheres can no longer communicate
- right brain can react but not talk about objects it sees
61
somatic nervous system
- part of PNS
| - transmits signals to the CNS via nerves about sensory details
62
automatic nervous system
- other part of PNS
- regulates internal environment by stimulating glands & maintaining organs
- sends signals to CNS via nerves about internal conditions like fullness
- contains sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions
63
sympathetic division
- part of ANS
| - prepares body for action when aroused
64
parasympathetic division
- part of ANS
| - returns body back to resting state
65
endocrine system
- communication network that influences thoughts and behaviors
- slower than nervous system and uses hormones
- primarily controlled by hypothalamus
66
hormones
- chemical substances released into bloodstream by endocrine glands like pancreas, thyroid, and testes/ovaries
- can be long-lasting
67
gonads
- endocrine glands influencing sexual behavior (testes or ovaries)
- androgens are more prevalent in males vs. estrogens in females
68
pituitary gland
- located at the base of the hypothalamus, controls endocrine system
- influences all other glands by producing hormones
69
plasticity
- ability of the brain to change itself continually
- connections are strengthened by experience during critical periods
- includes neurogenesis, especially in the hippocampus as memory is overwritten
- when done early, certain aspects of the brain compensate for those that have been injured
70
fire together, wire together
connections are strengthened when neurons fire at the same time
71
gene expression
whether a particular gene is turned on or off based on environmental factors
72
heritability
- whether a trait is inherited-- found by comparing e.g. a mother and daughter to two strangers and seeing if they have less than the avg variation
- expressed as a decimal or percent
73
epigenetics
study of how environment can create genetic tags that can be passed on
