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AP Psychology Unit 2
The Brain
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Acetylcholine | A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction |
| Action Potential | the change in electrical potential associated with the passage of an impulse along the membrane of a muscle cell or nerve cell. |
| Adrenal Glands | 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. |
| Agonist vs Antagonist | Agonist: medication binds to the same site as an endogenous substance (e.g., neurotransmitter) to produce similar response Antagonist: Medication binds to a receptor and thus, prevents the binding and action of an agonist |
| All or None Law | principle that the action potential in a neuron does not vary in strength; the neuron either fires at full strength or it does not fire at all |
| Endocrine System | the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
| Excitatory vs Inhibitory Signals | Excitatory signals make it more likely for receiving neuron to fire and inhibitory signals make receiving neurons less likely to fire |
| Homeostasis | A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level |
| Hormones | Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another |
| Nervous System | the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy |
| Peripheral Nervous System | the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
| Pituitary Gland | The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. |
| Reflex | a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response |
| Reuptake | a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron |
| Sensory Neurons | neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord |
| Serotonin | Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal |
| Somatic Nervous System | the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles |
| Spinal Cord | Nerves that run up and down the length of the back and transmit most messages between the body and brain |
| Automatic Nervous System | the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. |
| Axon | the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands |
| Blood-Brain Barrier | Blood vessels (capillaries) that selectively let certain substances enter the brain tissue and keep other substances out |
| Central Nervous System | brain and spinal cord |
| Dopamine | influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion |
| Mirror Neurons | Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy. |
| Motor Neurons | neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands |
| Myelin Sheath | A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next. |
| Thyroid | A gland that regulates vital body functions, regulates metabolism |
| Association Areas | areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking |
| Amygdala | two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. |
| Aphasia | impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding). |
| Brain Plasticity | The capacity for the brain to alter its structure and function. |
| Broca's Area | Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech. |
| Cerebellum | A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills. |
| Cerebral Cortex | The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center. |
| Cerebrum | Area of the brain responsible for all voluntary activities of the body |
| Cognitive Neuroscience | the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) |
| Corpus Callosum | the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them |
| Dual Processing | the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks |
| Forebrain | The largest and most complicated region of the brain, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, and cerebrum. |
| Frontal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement |
| Glial Cells | cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons |
| Hemispheric Specialization | The control of distinct neurological functions by the right and left hemispheres of the brain. |
| Hind Brain | medulla, pons, cerebellum |
| Hippocampus | A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage. |
| Hypothalamus | A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward. |
| Left Hemisphere | controls the right side of the body; analytical, language, math |
| Lesions | areas of tissue that have been pathologically altered by injury, wound, or infection |
| Limbic System | neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives |
| Medulla | the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing |
| Midbrain | A small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward. |
| Motor Cortex | an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements |
| Neurogenesis | the formation of new neurons |
| Occipital Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information |
| Parietal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch. |
| Pons | A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain |
| Reticular Formation | a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal |
| Right Hemisphere | This half of the brain specializes in perception of physical environment, art, nonverbal communication, music & spiritual aspects. It receives information from and controls the opposite side of the body. |
| Sensory Cortex | area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
| Split Brain | a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them |
| Temporal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language. |
| Thalamus | the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla |
| Wernicke's Area | controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe |
| Activation Synthesis | the idea that dreams are the result of the cerebral cortex interpreting and organizing random flashes of brain activity, originating in the lower brain structures, especially the pons |
| Alpha Waves | the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state |
| Beta Waves | awake and alert |
| Circadian Rhythm | the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle |
| Collective Unconscious | Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history |
| Consciousness | our awareness of ourselves and our environment |
| Delta Waves | the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep |
| Depressant | A drug that slows the central nervous system |
| Dream | a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind. |
| Evolutionary Psychology | the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection |
| Hallucinations | false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus |
| Hallucinogens | psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input |
| Information Processing | humans accomplish this either in parallel (unconsciously) or in serial fashion (consciously) |
| Insomnia | recurring problems in falling or staying asleep |
| Latent Content | according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream |
| Manifest Content | according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream |
| Narcolepsy | A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times. |
| Night Terrors | a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered |
| Pineal Gland | secretes melatonin |
| Psychoactive Drugs | chemicals that affect the central nervous system and alter activity in the brain |
| REM Sleep | Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active. |
| Restless Leg Syndrome | uncomfortable sensations in legs causing movement and loss of sleep |
| Sleep | periodic, natural loss of consciousness--as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation |
| Sleep Apnea | a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings |
| Sleep Cycles | the patterns of shifting through all of the sleep stages over the course of the night |
| Sleep Debt | A sleep deficiency caused by not getting the amount of sleep that one requires for optimal functioning. |
| Sleep Rebound | sleep-deprived individuals will experience shorter sleep latencies during subsequent opportunities for sleep |
| Sleep Spindle | rapid burst of high frequency brain waves during stage 2 sleep that may be important for learning and memory |
| Stimulants | Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions. |
| Theta Waves | brain waves indicating the early stages of sleep |
| Endorphins | "morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. |
| Neurons | a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system |
| Neurotransmitters | chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons |
| Sympathetic Nervous System | the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
| Synapse | Gap between neurons |
| Terminal Buttons | Small knobs at the end of axons that secrete chemicals called neurotransmitters |
| Threshold | the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
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DDenny1121
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