Chapter 2 Vocabulary review of Exploring Psychology Ninth Edition by David G. Myers
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| 1010723000 | Biological Psychology | The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes. | 1 | |
| 1010723001 | Neuron | A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system. | 2 | |
| 1010723002 | Dendrites | A neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. | 3 | |
| 1010723003 | Axon | The neuron extention that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands. | 4 | |
| 1010723004 | Myelin Sheath | A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next. | 5 | |
| 1010723005 | Glial Cells | Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning and thinking. | 6 | |
| 1010723006 | Action Potential | A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. | 7 | |
| 1010723007 | Threshold | The leel of stimulation required to trigger a neural impluse. | 8 | |
| 1010723008 | Synapse | The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. | 9 | |
| 1010723009 | Neurotransmitters | Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. | 10 | |
| 1010723010 | Endorphins | "Morphine within" - Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. | 11 | |
| 1010723011 | Nervous System | The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the PNS and CNS. | 12 | |
| 1010723012 | Central Nervous System(CNS) | The brain and spinal cord. | 13 | |
| 1010723013 | Peripheral Nervous System(PNS) | The sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body. | 14 | |
| 1010723014 | Nerves | Bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs. | 15 | |
| 1010723015 | Sensory Neurons | Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord. | 16 | |
| 1010723016 | Motor Neurons | Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands. | 17 | |
| 1010723017 | Interneurons | Neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs. | 18 | |
| 1010723018 | Somatic Nervous System | The diision of the PNS that controls the body's skeletal muscles. | 19 | |
| 1010723019 | Autonomic Nervous System | The part of the PNS that controls the glands andthe musclesof the internal organs. | 20 | |
| 1010723020 | Sympathetic Nervous System | The division of the ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing it's energy in stressful situations. | 21 | |
| 1010723021 | Parasympathetic Nervous System | The division of the ANS that calms the body, consering it's energy. | 22 | |
| 1010723022 | Reflex | A simple automatic response to a sensory stimulus. | 23 | |
| 1010723023 | Endocrine System | The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that screte hormones into the booldstream. | 24 | |
| 1010723024 | Hormones | Chemical messangers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues. | 25 | |
| 1010723025 | Adrenal Glands | A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress. | 26 | |
| 1010723026 | Pituitary Gland | The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influenceof the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. | 27 | |
| 1010723027 | Lesion | Tissue destruction. | 28 | |
| 1010723028 | Brainstem | The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. | 29 | |
| 1010723029 | Medulla | The base of the brainstem; controlls heartbeat and breathing. | 30 | |
| 1010723030 | EEG | An amplified readout of such waves. | 31 | |
| 1010723031 | PET | Depicts brain activity by showing each brain area's consumption of it's chemical fuel, the sugar glucose. | 32 | |
| 1010723032 | MRI | Brain scans that detect soft tissue locations. | 33 | |
| 1010723033 | fMRI | Brain scans that can reveal the brain's functioning as well as it's structure. | 34 | |
| 1010723034 | Thalamus | The brain's sensory router, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory recieving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla. | 35 | |
| 1010723035 | Reticular Information | A nerve network that travels through the brainstem and plays an important role in controlling arousal. | 36 | |
| 1010723036 | Cerebellum | The "little brain" at the rer of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory. | 37 | |
| 1010723037 | Limbic System | Neural system which includes; the hippocampus, amygdala, and the hypothalamus that is located below the cerebral hemispheres;associated with emotions and drives. | 38 | |
| 1010723038 | Amygdala | Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. | 39 | |
| 1010723039 | Hypothalamus | A neural structure lying below the thalmas; it directs several maintenance activites, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward. | 40 | |
| 1010723040 | Cerebral Cortex | The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center. | 41 | |
| 1010723041 | Frontal Lobes | A portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements. | 42 | |
| 1010723042 | Parietal Lobes | A portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position. | 43 | |
| 1010723043 | Occipital Lobes | A portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that recieve information from the visual fields. | 44 | |
| 1010723044 | Temporal Lobes | A portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiing information primarily from the opposite ear. | 45 | |
| 1010723045 | Motor Cortex | An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements. | 46 | |
| 1010723046 | Sensory Cortex | An area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations. | 47 | |
| 1010723047 | Association Areas | 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. | 48 | |
| 1010723048 | Plasticity | The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizingafter damage or by building new pathways based on experience. | 49 | |
| 1010723049 | Neurogenesis | The formation of new neurons. | 50 | |
| 1010723050 | Corpus Callosum | The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemisphers and carrying messages between them. | 51 | |
| 1010723051 | Split Brain | A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers that connect them. | 52 | |
| 1010723052 | Enviornment | Every nongenetic influence from prenatal utrition to the people and things around us. | 53 | |
| 1010723053 | Behavior Genetics | The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. | 54 | |
| 1010723054 | Chromosomes | Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes. | 55 | |
| 1010723055 | DNA | A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes. | 56 | |
| 1010723056 | Genes | The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing protiens. | 57 | |
| 1010723057 | Identical Twins | Twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms. | 58 | |
| 1010723058 | Faternal Twins | Twins who develop from seperate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than ordinary brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment. | 59 | |
| 1010723059 | Interaction | The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor depends on another factor. | 60 | |
| 1010723060 | Epigenetics | The study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change. | 61 | |
| 1010723061 | Evolutionary Psychology | The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection | 62 | |
| 1010723062 | Natural Selection | The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. | 63 | |
| 1010723063 | Mutation | A random error in gene replication that leads to a change. | 64 |
