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| branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior |
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| a nerve cell; basic building block of the nervous system |
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| bushy branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses towards the cell body |
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| extension of neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers , through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands |
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| layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neuron; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next |
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| neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. the action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane |
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| level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
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| 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 cleft |
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| chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. when released by the sending neuron neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor siteson the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuon will generate a neural impulse |
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| neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers muscle contraction |
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| "morphine within"- natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure |
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| bodys speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems |
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| the brain and spinal cord |
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| peripheral nervous system |
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| sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
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| neural "cables" containing many axons. these bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervoyus system with muscles, glands, and sense organs |
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| neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptorsto the central nervous system |
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| central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs |
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| neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous sytem to the muscles and glands |
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| division odf the peripheral nervous system thatcontrols the bodys skeletal muscles. also called skeletal nervous system |
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| part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs |
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| sympathetic nervous system |
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| division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
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| parasympathetic nervous system |
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| the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body conserving its energy |
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| a simple automatic inborn responseto a sensory stimulus such as the knee-jerk response |
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| interconnected neural cells. with experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibitsconnections that produce certain results. computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning. |
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| tissue destruction. a brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of the brain tissue |
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| amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brains surface. these waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp |
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| a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body. CAT SCAN |
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| visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while he brain performs a given task. |
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| technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of sort tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain |
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| oldest part and centralcore ofthe brain, beginning where the spinal core swells asit enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions |
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| base of the brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing |
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| nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal |
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| brains 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 |
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| "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance |
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| doughnut-shaped sytem of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. includes hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus |
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| two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion |
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| neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion |
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| intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the bodys ultimate control and information-processing center |
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| cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons |
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| the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking ad muscle movements and in making plans and judgements. |
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| The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; includes the sensory cortex |
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| the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which recieve visual information fromthe opposite visual field. |
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| The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each of which recieves auditory information primarily fro the opposite ear. |
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| the area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements. |
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| the rea t the front of the parietal lobes that registerand processes body sensations |
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| Areasof the cerebral cortex tha are involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in highermental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speakng |
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| Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area or to Wernicke's area. |
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| controls languge expression-an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movementsinvolved in speech |
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| controls language reception-a brain area ivolved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe |
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| brains capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganizaton following damage (children mainly) and in experimens on the effects of experience on brain development |
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| large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them |
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| condiion in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them |
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| the bodys "slow" chemicalcommunication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstrem |
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| chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, hat are produced in one tissue and affect another |
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| pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. the adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrin and nonepinephrine which help to arouse the body in times of stress |
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| endocrine systems most influential gland. under the influence of the hypothalamus, te pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands |
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