Intro to Psychology (PSYC101): Module 3: Neural and Hormonal Systems

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists.

the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life-support center.

a neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

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.

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

in neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state.

a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing.

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron.

“morphine within”—natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action.

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

the brain and spinal cord.

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands.

neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal 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.

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy.

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues.

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

the endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.