Terms : Hide Images
| 227511364 | Biological Psychology | A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. | |
| 227511365 | Neuron | a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system | |
| 227511366 | Dendrite | the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body | |
| 227511367 | Axon | the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands | |
| 227511368 | 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 next | |
| 227511369 | Action Potential | a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon | |
| 227511370 | Threshold | the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse | |
| 227511371 | Synapse | the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron | |
| 227511372 | Neurotransmitters | chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons | |
| 227511373 | Acetylcholine | a neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction | |
| 227511374 | Endorphins | "morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. | |
| 227511375 | Nervous System | the body's speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems | |
| 227511376 | Central Nervous system | The brain and spinal cord | |
| 227511377 | 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 | |
| 227511378 | peripheral nervous system | the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body | |
| 227511379 | sensory neurons | neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system | |
| 227511380 | interneurons | Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs | |
| 227511381 | motor neurons | neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands. | |
| 227511382 | Somatic nervous system | the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system | |
| 227511383 | autonomic nervous system | The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. | |
| 227511384 | sympathetic nervous system | the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations | |
| 227511385 | parasympathetic nervous system | the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy | |
| 227511386 | reflex | a simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response | |
| 227511387 | neural networks | interconnected neural cells | |
| 227511388 | Pituitary gland | the endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands | |
| 227511389 | Adrenal glands | a pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. the adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which help to arouse the body in times of stress. | |
| 227511390 | hormones | Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another. | |
| 227511391 | endocrine system | the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
