The Brain
The Brain
Biological psychology- a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
Neuron- a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Dendrite- the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Axon- the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or 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
Action potential- a 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 the channels in the axon’s membrane
Threshold- a level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Synapse- the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite and cell body of the receiving neuron. The tin gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft
Neurotransmitters- chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
Acetylcholine (Ach) – a neurotransmitter that, among its functions, triggers muscle contraction
Endorphins- “morphine within”- natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure
Nervous system- the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Central nervous system (CNS) – the brain and the spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS) – the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Nerves- neural “cables” containing many axons. These bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.
Sensory neurons- neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system
Interneuron- central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Motor neurons-