Modules 9 & 10 Vocabulary

Question 1

• the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neutral, hormonal) and psychological process

Answer 1

Biological Psychology

Question 2

• a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Answer 2

Neuron

Question 3

• a neuron’s bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Answer 3

Dendrites

Question 4

• the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscle or glands

Answer 4

Axon

Question 5

• a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmissions speed as neutral impulses hop from one sausage- like node to the next

Answer 5

Myelin Sheath

Question 6

• a neutral impiously; a brief electric charge that travels down an axon

Answer 6

Action Potential

Question 7

• a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

Answer 7

Refractory Period

Question 8

a membrane-bound transporter found in nearly all mammalian cells that transports potassium ions into the cytoplasm from the extracellular fluid while simultaneously transporting sodium ions out of the cytoplasm to the extracellular fluid.

Answer 8

Sodium-Potassium Pump

Question 9

a gap occurring at regular intervals between segments of myelin sheath along a nerve axon.

Answer 9

Nodes of Ranvier

Question 10

: a class of cells in the brain and spinal cord that form a supporting structure for the neurons and provide them with insulation.

Answer 10

Neuroglia

Question 11

: 1. the non-neural cells of ectodermal origin forming part of the adventitial structure of the central nervous system. 2. the tissue composed of such cells.

Answer 11

Oligodendroglia

Question 12

: also called neurilemma cell, any of the cells in the peripheral nervous system that produce the myelin sheath around neuronal axons. Schwann cells are named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann, who discovered them in the 19th century.

Answer 12

Schwann Cells

Question 13

: get their name because they are “star-shaped”. They are the most abundant glial cells in the brain that are closely associated with neuronal synapses. They regulate the transmission of electrical impulses within the brain.

Answer 13

Astrocytes

Question 14

• 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

Answer 14

Synapse

Question 15

• chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by sending neuron, these travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neutral impulse.

Answer 15

Neurotransmitters

Question 16

• a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

Answer 16

Reuptake

Question 17

• the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Answer 17

Threshold

Question 18

• a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing

Answer 18

All-or-none response

Question 19

• “morphine within”- natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Answer 19

Endorphins

Question 20

: a molecule that, by bending to a receptor site, stimulates a response

Answer 20

Agonist

Question 21

: a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

Answer 21

Antagonist

Question 22

a filtering mechanism of the capillaries that carry blood to the brain and spinal cord tissue, blocking the passage of certain substances.

Answer 22

Blood-Brain Barrier

Question 23

: the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cell of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Answer 23

Nervous system

Question 24

the brain and spinal cord

Answer 24

Central nervous system (CNS):

Question 25

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

Answer 25

Peripheral nervous system (PNS):

Question 26

: bundled axons that form neutral “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Answer 26

Nerves

Question 27

: neurons that carry incoming information fro the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Answer 27

Sensory (afferent) neurons

Question 28

: neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscle and glands

Answer 28

Motor (efferent) neurons

Question 29

: neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Answer 29

Interneurons

Question 30

: the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles also called the skeletal nervous system

Answer 30

Somatic nervous system

Question 31

has two divisions: the sympathetic nervous system, which accelerates the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows the heart rate, increases intestinal and gland activity, and relaxes sphincter muscles.

Answer 31

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Question 32

: the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.

Answer 32

Sympathetic nervous system

Question 33

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

Answer 33

Parasympathetic nervous system

Question 34

: a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

Answer 34

Reflex

Question 35

: the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands the secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Answer 35

Endocrine system

Question 36

: chemicals messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

Answer 36

Hormones

Question 37

: a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress

Answer 37

Adrenal glands

Question 38

: the endocrine system’s most influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Answer 38

Pituitary glans