Biopsychology

• Central Nervous System


  Brain and spinal cord
• How does the Central Nervous System work?

  Messages are transported through the spinal cord, then shared with the peripheral nervous system, then message delivered by the peripheral nervous system to a part of your body.
• Somatic nervous system


  Associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary.
• Autonomic nervous system


  How the brain controls vital organs and processes without your awareness.
• Sympathetic Nervous System


  Involved in preparing the body for stress-related activities.
• Parasympathetic Nervous System


  Associated with returning the body to routine or stability and adjusting to favorable conditions.
• Homeostasis


  Biological systems maintain stability and adjust to most favorable conditions.
• Dendrites (branches)


  Neurons receive neurotransmitters from other neurons through this.
• Soma


  Where neurotransmitters are produced. Also, where you find the nucleus, which stores DNA.
• Axon


  Electric signal goes down this of the neuron.
• Axon terminal buttons


  The dots at the back of the neuron. If electrical signal makes it to terminal buttons, they release neurotransmitters.
• Myelin Sheath


  Axons coated by this. It is split into segments, the space between segments is known as Nodes of Ranvier.
• The space between Myelin Sheath's segments is known as?

  Nodes of Ranvier.
• What does the myelin sheath do?

  It helps the electrical signal travel faster through the neuron, there is less effort for the neuron to send the signal.
• The cycle?

  Axon's terminal buttons -> Neurotransmitters -> Dendrites.
• Resting Potential


  No electrical signal passing through, ready to receive neurotransmitters, and more negative inside neuron.
• Action Potential


  Electrical signal that moves from cell body to terminal buttons, charge inside neuron becomes more positive than outside.
• Membrane Potential


  Difference in electrical charge outside and inside neuron.
• Frontal Lobe


  Involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language.
• Parietal Lobe


  Involved in processing sensory information related to touch, taste, and temperature.
• Temporal Lobe


  Associated with hearing, memory, emotion and some aspects of language.
• Occipital Lobe


  Primarily associated with vision.
• Cerebral Cortex


  The uneven surface of the brain; patterns of folds/bumps known as the gyri, and grooves called sulci.
• Longitudinal Fissure


  The deep groove that separates the brain into two hemispheres.
• Lateralization (controls half of body)


  Specialization of function in each hemisphere.
• Corpus Callosum


  The thick band of neural fibers that connects the two hemispheres - split brain patients.
• Wernicke's Area (Aphasia)


  Important for speech comprehension, damage results in difficulty understanding language.
• Broca's Area (Aphasia)


  The region in the left hemisphere that is essential for the language production, damage leads to difficulties producing language.