Myelin Sheath
covers certain neurons with a layer of fatty tissue that serves as a catalyst for neural transmission
Autonomic nervous system
Governs the heartbeat, digestion, and other self-regulating bodily functions
What can a strong stimulus increase?
# of times the neuron fires
The pain of heroin withdrawal may be attributable to the fat that?
Under the influence of heroin the brain ceases production of endorphins
PET scan
Brain research technique that involves monitoring the brain's usage of glucose
Describe the axon when in a resting state
The axon is polarized, with mostly positively charged ions & negatively charged ions inside
What system's regulation is primarily attributed to brain region?
The limbic system
Describe the sequence in the transmission of a simple reflex
Sensory Neuron > Interneuron > Motor Neuron
Damage to what area will cause a person to lose ability to comprehend language?
Wernicke's area
What is typically controlled by the right hemisphere?
Perceptual tasks
A doctor who studies neurotransmitter abnormalities in depressed patients is most likely a
biological psychologist
What accompainies the increasing complexity of animals' behavior?
The increase in the amount of association area
Which nervous system directs voluntary movement? ie: writing with a pencil
Somatic nervous system
When will a neuron generate action potientials more often?
When it recieves more excitatory that inhibitory inputs
Describe the transmission of a neural impulse
Dendrite > Cell body > Axon > Synapse
What are chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands called?
Hormones
After a head injury, when a person has difficulty staying awake most likely the damage occured to the
Reticular formation
What are cortical areas that are not primarily concerned with sensory, motor, or language functions called?
Association areas
In the brain, learning occurs as experience strengthens certain connections in cell work groups called
Neural networks
Hypothalamus
Contains reward centers
Lesion
Tissue destruction
EEG
Amplified recording of brain waves
fMRI
technique that uses radio waves and magnetic fields to show brain function
Reticular information
helps control arousal
MRI
technique that uses radio wavesand magnetic fields to show brain function
Thalamus
serves as sensory switchboard
Corpus callosum
links the cerebral hemispheres
Cerebellum
enables coordinated movement
Amygdala
influences rage and fear
Medulla
regulates breathing and heartbeat
The visual cortex is located in the
occipital lobe
Which of the following is typically controlled by the left hemisphere?
word recognition
When Sandy scalded her toe in a tub of hot water, the pain message was carried to her spinal cord by the ____________ system
somatic
What is governed by the simpliest neural pathways?
reflexes
Melissa has just completed running a marathon. She is so elated that she feels little fatigue or discomfort. Her lack of pain is probably the result of the release of
endorphins
Parkinson's disease involves
the death of nerve cells that produce a vital neurotransmitter
The techinique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer images of structures within the brain is called
MRI
The myelin sheath that is on some neurons .
..
increases the speed of neural tranmission
During an action potiential, the electrical state of the axon becomes:
depolarized, as positively charged ions are admitted
The neurotransmitter ACh is most likely to be found
at the junction between motor neurons and muscle fibers
The gland that regulates body growth is the
pituitary gland
Epinephrine and norepinephrine are ______ that are released by the _______ gland
hormones; adrenal
Jessical experienced difficulty keeping her balance after recieving a blow to the back of her head. It is likely that she injured her
cerebellum
Moruzzi and Magoun caused a cat to lapse into a coma by severing neural connections between the cortex and the
reticular formation
Research had found that hte amount of representation in the motor cortex reflects the
degree of precise control required by each of the parts
The effect of a drug that is an agonist is to
mimic a particular neurotransmitter
The nerve fibers that enable communication between the right and left cerebral hemispheres and that have been severed in split-brain patients for a structure called the
corpus callosum
Three year old Marco suffered damage to the speech area of the brain's left hemisphere when he fell from a swing.
Research suggests that
his right hemisphere may take over much of the language function
Right hemisphere
specializes in spatial relations
Brainstem
oldest part of the brain
Glial cells
brain cells that provide nutrients and insulating myelin
limbic system
regulates emotion
Left hemisphere
specializes in rationalizing reactions
Angular gyrus
translates writing into speech
A biological psychhologist would be more likely to study
the chemical changes that accompany emotions
The part of the human brain that is most like that of a fish is the
brainstem
If Doctor Rogers wishes to conduct an experiment on the effects of stimulating the reward centers of a rat's brain, he should insert an electrode into the
hypothalamus
Several shy neurons send an inhibitory message to neighboring neuron Joni. At the same time, a larger group of party-going neurons send Joni excitatory messages. What will Joni do?
fire, assuming that her threshold has been reached
Dr. Johnson briefly flashed a picture of a key in the right visual field of a split-brain patient.
The patient could probably:
verbally report that a key was seen
limbic system is to
emotion and memory
Which of the following was a major problem with phrenology?
The brain is not neatly organized into structures that correspond to our categories of behavior
A bodybuilder friend suddenly seems to have grown several inches in height. You suspect that your friend's growth spurt has occurred because he has been using drugs that affect the
pituitary gland
Raccoons have much more precis control of their paws than dogs. You would expect that raccoons have more cortical space dedicated to "paw control" in the ________ of their brains
frontal lobes
