AP Psych Neuropsychology Vocabulary

Brainstem

- Oldest part & central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull
- Responsible for automatic survival functions

Endorphins

- Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain, control, and pleasure
- "Morphine-like"

Nervous System

- Network of nerve cells & fibers that transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body

Medulla

- Base of the brainstem
- Controls heartbeat & breathing

Limbic System

- Doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem & cerebral hemispheres
- Associated with emotions: fear and aggression
- Drives desire for food & sex
- Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, & hypothalamus

Motor Cortex

- Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Reflex

- Simple, automatic, inborn response to a stimulus

PNS (peripheral nervous system)

- Sensory & motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

CNS (central nervous system)

- Brain & spinal cord

Sensory Neuron

- Neuron that carries incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system

Interneuron

- CNS neurons that internally communicate & intervene b/w the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Motor Neuron

- Carries outgoing information from the CNS to muscles & glands

Synapse

- Junction b/w the axon tip of the sending neuron & the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Dendrite

- Bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages & conduct impulses toward the cell body

Myelin Sheath

- A layer of fatty cells segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons
- Enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses

Neurotransmitter

- Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps b/w neurons

Neuron

- A nerve cell
- Basic building block of the nervous system

Axon

- Extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles/glands

Somatic Nervous System

- The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

Sympathetic Nervous System

- The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Parasympathetic Nervous System

- Division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Automatic Nervous System

- The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands/muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)
- Sympathetic division = arousing
- Parasympathetic = calming

Reticular Formation

- A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

Frontal Lobe

- Involved in speaking & muscle movements and in making plans & judgments

Parietal Lobe

- Includes the sensory cortex

Occipital Lobe

- Includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field

Temporal Lobe

- Includes the auditory areas

Lesion

- Tissue destruction
- Brain lesion = destruction of brain tissue

Plasticity

- The brain's capacity for modification (as evident in brain reorganization following damage & in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development)

Thalamus

- Brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem
- Directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex & transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Cerebellum

- "Little brain" at the rear of the brainstem
- Helps coordinate voluntary movement & balance

Amygdala

- Two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system & are linked to emotion

Hypothalamus

- Neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus
- Directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature)
- Helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland (linked to emotion & reward)

Cerebral Cortex

- Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres
- Body's ultimate control & information-processing center

Glial Cells

- Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, & protect neurons

The Brain

- Organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating center of sensation & intellectual and nervous activity

Sensory Cortex

- Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers & processes body sensations

Aphasia

- Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) OR to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Broca's Area

- Area of the left frontal lobe directing muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke's Area

- Area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension & expression

Pituitary Gland

- Under the influence of the hypothalamus
- Pituitary regulates growth & controls other endocrine glands

Adrenal Gland

- Pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys
- Secrete hormones: epinephrine (adrenaline) & norepinephrine (nonadrenaline), which help arouse to arouse the body in times of stress

Hormones

- Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue & affect another

Corpus Collosum

- Large band of neural fibers
- Connects the two brain hemispheres
- Carries messages between the hemispheres

Endocrine System

- The body's "slow" chemical communication system
- Set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream