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Nuerons
behavioral nueroscience
Term | Definition |
---|---|
behavioral neuroscience | psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which the biological functions and structures of the body affect behavior |
neurons | basic elements of the nervous system which send messages that allow us to think, remember, and experience emotions |
all-or-none law | neurons are either off or on |
resting state | before a neuron is triggered, there is a negative electric charge of about 70 millivolts per neuron |
action potential | an electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron when it is set off by a "trigger" changing the neurons charge from negative to positive |
mirror neurons | specialized neurons that fire not only when a person enacts a particular behavior, but also when a person observes another person carry out that behavior |
dendrite | a cluster of fibers at one end of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons |
axon | part of the nervous system that carries messages destined for other neurons |
terminal buttons | small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons |
myelin sheath | a protective coat of fat and protein that wraps around the neuron |
synapse | the space between the two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrite of a receiving neurons by using chemical messages |
neurotransmitters | chemicals that communicate messages from one neuron to another neuron across the synapse |
excitatory messages | chemical messages that make it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon |
inhibitory messages | chemical messages that prevent or decrease the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire |
reuptake | the reabsorption of neurotransmitters |