Unit 2 AP Psychology Vocabulary

Neuron

• 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.
• a neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. An undersupply is linked to depression.
• a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
• portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory ares, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.

Afferent (sensory) neurons

• neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
• an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
• a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.
• area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.

Efferent (motor) neurons

• neurons will only fire at full power, either all the way or not at all.
• 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.
• foreign substance that blocks certain neurotransmitters, not allowing them to do their job.
• neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.

Interneurons

• a neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature, sex drive), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
• neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
• a neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal. An undersupply can cause a depressed mood.
• occurs when action potential travels down the axon, causing the sodium ions to rush in (a mixing of different ions) causing depolarization and the energy to fire.

Dendrite

• the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward toward the cell body.
• the brain and the spinal cord.
• an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
• a neuron's resting period after firing, when it recharges and can not fire again until recharged.

Soma

• cell body where the nucleus of the neuron is located.
• a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down the axon (depolarizes the neuron as it travels through).
• the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
• controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.

Axon

• chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.
• the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
• the endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
• 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.

Mylein sheath

• cell body where the nucleus of the neuron is located.
• 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.
• a neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature, sex drive), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
• chemical messengers that cross 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.

Glial cells

• cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
• a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.
• portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory ares, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.
• 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.

Synapse

• 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.
• the brain and the spinal cord.
• a neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal. An undersupply can cause a depressed mood.
• neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.