The Brain and Neuropsychology

• CNS - the central nervous system, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord
• ANS - the autonomic nervous system, which is a network of unmyelinated nerve fibres running through the body and connecting the senses and the internal organs with the central nervous system
• Stimulus - something that is detected by the sense receptors, which the nervous system will react to
• Fight or flight - an automatic reaction to threat, stimulated by the ANS and maintained by the endocrine system, which activates the body's reserves of energy to prepare it for action
• Emotion - the moods or feelings that a person experiences
• Motor neuron - a nerve cell that takes messages from the CNS to the muscles that cause them to move
• Relay neuron - a nerve cell that passes messages within the CNS
• Neurotransmitter - a chemical which is released into the synapse by one neuron, and picked up by the next neuron
• Synaptic transmission - the process by which messages are passed from one neuron to another by sending neurotransmitters across the synaptic gap so they can bind with receptors on the next neuron.
• Excitation - when a neurotransmitter binds with a receptor on the next neuron and increases the chances that the next neuron will fire an electrical impulse