Part of the neuron that contains the nucleus:

Bushy extension that receive messages:

Extension of the neuron that passes messages through it's branches to other neurons, muscles or glands:

Fatty layer encasing the axons of some neurons, enables greater transmissions of speed:

Cells that support, nourish & protect neurons:

Neural impulse, travels down the axon:

Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse:

Brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired:

A neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing:

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron & the dendrite of the receiving neuron:

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons:

A neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron:

"morphine" within--natural opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control & to pleasure:

Neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, & emotion:

Neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, & arousal:

A molecule that "mimics" and increases a neurotransmitters action:

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action:

The body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral & central nervous system.

The brain & spinal cord make up the ________________ nervous system.

The sensory & motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, & sense organs.

Neurons that carry incoming information from the body's tissues & sensory receptors to the brain & spinal cord.

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain & spinal cord to the muscles & glands.

Neurons within the brain & spinal cord, they communicate internally & process info between the sensory inputs & motor inputs.

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands & the muscles of the internal organs.

Division of the nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy.

Division of the nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, & affect other tissues.

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys & secrete hormones (epinephrine & norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Regulates growth & controls other endocrine glands.

Tissue destruction.

Amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface.

A series of X-ray photographs taken from different angles & combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure.

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.

A technique that uses magnetic fields & radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue.

A technique for revealing blood flow & brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans, show function & structure.

Oldest part of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions.

The base of the brainstem, controls heartbeat breathing.

The brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstorm; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex.

A nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus & plays an important role in controlling arousal.

The "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; coordinates movement, balance, nonverbal learning & memory.

Neural limbic system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions & drives.

Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.

Neural structure below the thalamus; directs maintenance activities, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, linked to emotion & reward.

Neural center located in the limbic system; helps process for storage explicit memories of facts & events.

The intricate fabric interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; body's ultimate control & information-processing center.

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking & muscle movements & in making plans & judgments.

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head & toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch & body position.

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

An area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers & processes body touch & movement sensations.

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, & speaking.

The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

Area of the brain that produces speech:

Area of the brain responsible for speech comprehension.

The formation of new neurons.

The large band of neural fivers connecting the two brain hemispheres & carrying messages between them.

A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them.

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory & language.)

The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious & unconscious tracks.

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; generally used to process well-learned information or to solve easy problems.

Processing one aspect of a problem at a time; generally used to process new information or to solve difficult problems.

The study of the relative power & limits of genetic & environmental influences on behavior.

The genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.

Every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people & things around us.

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing proteins.

The complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes.

Twins that develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms.

Twins that develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than ordinary brothers & sisters, but they share a prenatal environment.

The proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes.

The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).

The subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure & function of genes.

The study of how the structure & function of genes interact with our environment to influence behavior.

"above" or "in addition to" genetics; the study of environmental influences of gene expression that occur without a DNA change.

The study of the evolution of behavior & the mind, using principles of natural selection.

The principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive & reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

A random error in gene replication that leads to a change.

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.