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Chapter 2
The Human Puzzle Chapter 2 Study Material
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Acetylcholine | A neurotransmitter present in the peripheral as well as central nervous system, involved in voluntary activity as well as in physiological functions (such as heart and respiration rate). |
| Action Potential | A pulse like electrical discharge along a neuron. Sequences of linked action potentials are the basis for the transmission of neural messages. |
| Adrenal Glands | Endocrine glands situated at the top of the kidneys, involved in releasing hormones at times of stress. |
| Adrenaline | Also called epinephrine. A substance produced by the adrenal glands, released in response to stress. |
| Agonist | An agent or drug that enhances the activity of some naturally occurring substance. For example, cocaine is a dopamine agonist in that it appears to stimulate the activity of dopamine. |
| Alpha Waves | Slower, deeper brain waves characteristic of deep relaxation, having a frequency of 8 to 13 cycles per second. |
| Amygdala | A small structure in the limbic system (part of the forebrain) that is involved in emotion and aggression and that plays an important role in the processing and storage of memories that have to do with emotion. |
| Antagonist | A drug that blocks the effectiveness of a neurotransmitter. For example, beta blockers are antagonists that reduce blood pressure by impeding receptivity of adrenaline receptors. |
| Association Areas of the Brain | Parts of the four cerebral lobes involved in higher mental processes like thinking, learning, and remembering. |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) | A disorder marked by excessive general activity for a child’s age, attention problems, high impulsivity, and low frustration tolerance. Also termed hyperactivity. |
| Autonomic Nervous System | That part of the peripheral nervous system that is not ordinarily under conscious control. It regulates physiological functions such as respiration, heart rate, temperature, and digestion and includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. |
| Axon | The elongated part of a nerve cell. Axons ordinarily transmit impulses from the cell body to adjoining dendrites. |
| Beta Waves | Typical shallow and rapid brain waves of person who is awake, having a frequency of 13 to 30 cycles per minute. |
| Biological Constraints | Limitations on learning that result from biological factors rather than from experience. |
| Brain | A complex clustering of nerve cells that is centrally involved in coordinating activities and events in various parts of an organism. The human brain is reputedly the most complex structure in the universe. |
| Brain Stem | Part of the brain that connects the spinal cord with higher brain centers. Includes the hindbrain (medulla, pons, cerebellum) and the midbrain (reticular formation). |
| Central Nervous System | The human nervous system, which includes the brain and the spinal cord. |
| Cerebellum | A major brain structure attached to the rear of the brain stem, whose principal functions appear to be coordinating motor activity and maintaining balance. |
| Cerebral Cortex | The convoluted outer covering of the cerebrum, the main functions of which have to do with higher mental processes like thinking and imagining. (See cerebrum.) |
| Cerebrum | The main part of the human brain, consisting of the two cerebral hemispheres and covered by the cerebral cortex. |
| Circadian Rhythm | A biological/behavioral cycle that is approximately one day long. It describes our sleep/wake and temperature cycles. |
| Consciousness | Awareness of one’s personal identity. Self-awareness. Awareness of mental processes like thinking, imagining, and feeling. |
| Creationism | The belief that present life forms were created by a supreme being. |
| Delta Waves | Very slow brain waves (frequency of up to 4 per second) characteristic of deep sleep. |
| Dendrites | Hair like extensions emanating from the cell body of the neuron. Dendrites ordinarily receive impulses from adjoining axons. |
| Dopamine | A neurotransmitter centrally involved with pleasure and reinforcement and also implicated in some instances of drug addiction as well as in conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. |
| Echolocation | The use of sound to localize objects, based on the amount of time it takes an echo to return to the sound source. |
| Effector | A specialized cell or organ that carries out a response to a nerve impulse. |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG) | An instrument used to measure electrical activity in the brain. |
| Endocrine System | A system of glands that secrete hormones whose functioning affects things such as growth, maturation, behavior, and emotion. Includes the pituitary, the adrenal glands, and the gonads. |
| Evolution | A scientific theory that holds that present life forms have developed from preexisting species through a series of modifications governed by laws of natural selection and diversification of species. “Survival of the fittest” refers to the genetic fitness of species rather than to the physical fitness of individuals; that is, species best able to reproduce are most likely to survive. |
| Evolutionary Psychology | An approach in psychology defined by its attention to biology and genetics as sources of explanation for human learning and behavior. |
| Frontal Lobe | Frontal part of the cerebral cortex, centrally involved in higher thought processes. |
| Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) | A diagnostic imaging technique that detects extremely subtle changes in magnetic fields in the human body, allowing technicians to view real-time, computer-enhanced images of soft tissue. Used extensively to diagnose disease as well as to study neural activity in the brain. |
| Glial Cells | Cells that support neural functioning. Among other functions, they clean out debris and form protective coatings around nerves. (See Myelin Sheath.) |
| Gonads | Hormone-producing sex glands. Testes in the male; ovaries in the female. |
| Hippocampus | A limbic system structure in the forebrain, which is involved in learning and memory. |
| Holistic Education | A label for educational approaches that attempt to remedy what is seen as the failure of traditional education to educate the whole brain—especially the right hemisphere, which is speculatively linked with music, art, and emotion. |
| Hormones | Chemicals that have a pronounced effect on growth, maturation, behavior, and emotions and that are produced by endocrine glands and secreted directly into the bloodstream. |
| Hypnosis | A state characterized by heightened suggestibility (willingness to do and to believe what is suggested by the hypnotist). |
| Hypothalamus | A small structure at the base of the brain involved in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system and in temperature regulation. |
| Instinctive Drift | Refers to the tendency of organisms to revert to instinctual, unlearned behaviors. |
| Limbic System | A grouping of brain structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, associated mainly with emotion, memory, and reinforcement and punishment. |
| Magnetoencephalogram (MEG) | A recording of magnetic fields that correspond to electrical activity of the brain. MEG recordings are obtained at the scalp by means of a magnetoencephalograph to yield event-related fields (ERFs). |
| Medulla | The lowest part of the brain, found at the very top of the spinal cord and containing nerve centers involved in regulating physiological activity such as breathing, digestion, and heart functioning. |
| Melatonin | A natural hormone closely tied to sleep/wake cycles. Also called the sleep hormone. |
| Mind | A term referring primarily to human consciousness. Often defined as originating from or resulting in processes of the brain associated with activities like thinking, imagining, and perceiving. |
| Molecular Genetics | The branch of genetics that deals with hereditary transmission. Concerned with how genes are copied, how mutations come about, and how genes are expressed in species characteristics. |
| Myelin Sheath | An insulating, protective coating that surrounds nerve fibers and facilitates neural transmission. |
| Nerve | Bundles of fibers consisting of neurons, whose functions is the transmission of neural impulses. |
| Nervous System | All parts of the body composed of nerve cells, the function of which is to transmit messages. The major components of the human nervous system are the brain, the spinal cord, receptor systems associated with the major senses, and other nerve cells implicated in the functioning of muscles and glands. |
| Neurogenesis | The active production of new neurons. Most prevalent during the prenatal period but also occurs in adulthood. |
| Neuron | A single nerve cell, the smallest unit of the nervous system and its basic structural unit. The function of the neuron is to transmit impulses, which are basically electrical but are made possible through chemical changes. |
| Neurotransmitters | Naturally produced chemicals that are released by nerve cells and that initiate or facilitate transmission of messages among nerve cells (for example, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine). |
| Norepinephrine | A neurotransmitter linked with arousal, memory, and learning. Anomalies in the functioning of the nor-epinephrine system may be linked to some manifestations of depression. Also called noradrenaline. |
| Occipital Lobe | Part of the cerebral cortex located at the rear of the brain, involved in vision. |
| Paradoxical Sleep | Another label for REM sleep, so called because during this stage of sleep physiological functions such as heart and respiration rate are very similar to those of a waking state. |
| Parasympathetic Nervous System | Part of the autonomic nervous system that regulates physiological reactions that accompany emotional reactions. |
| Parietal Lobe | Cerebral lobes located just above the temporal lobes, between the frontal and occipital lobes. The parietal lobes are involved in sensation. |
| Parkinson’s Disease | A central nervous system disease characterized by tremors, slow movement, and other symptoms; associated with low dopamine levels in the brain. |
| Peripheral Nervous System | The neural networks that fan out from the central nervous system to various parts of the body. |
| Pituitary Gland | A small endocrine gland found as a protrusion off the hypothalamus. The master gland involved in controlling functioning of other endocrine glands. |
| Pons | A small brain structure that appears as a bulge at the front of medulla. Part of the brain stem involved in breathing and arousal. |
| Positron Emission Tomography (PET) | An imaging technique used extensively in medicine and in physiological and neurological research. Records changes in blood flow by detecting the distribution of radioactive particles injected in the bloodstream. |
| Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep (REM sleep) | Sometimes referred to as the stage 5 of sleep, the stage during which most of our dreaming occurs. |
| Receptor | A specialized cell or group of cells that responds to sensory stimulation. |
| Refractory Period | A brief period after firing during which a neuron is “discharged” and is incapable of firing again. |
| Reticular Formation (Reticular Activating System; RAS) | That portion of the brain stem assumed to be responsible for the physiological arousal of the cortex as well as for the control of sleeping and waking. |
| Reuptake | The process by which a nerve cell recaptures some of the neurotransmitters it has released. Some medications and drugs function to increase neurotransmitter effectiveness by blocking reuptake. |
| Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis | The belief that language is essential for and determines thought (strong form); or the belief that language limits but does not determine thought (weak form). |
| Serotonin | A neurotransmitter, the bulk of which is found in the gut, where it regulates intestinal activity. Too low levels of serotonin may be associated with depression. |
| Somatic System | Part of the peripheral nervous system concerned with bodily sensations and muscular movement. |
| Spinal Cord | Main link between the brain and sensory and motor systems, closely involved in reflexes such as the knee-jerk reflex. |
| Suggestibility | A characteristic of a hypnotic state wherein subjects become exceedingly ready to believe whatever is suggested by the hypnotist and willing to perform whatever activities are asked of them. |
| Sympathetic Nervous System | Part of the autonomic nervous system that instigates the physiological responses that accompany emotional behavior. |
| Synapse | A microscopic gap between the end of an axon and an adjacent dendrite, axon, or other cell across which neural impulses (neurotransmitters) travel. |
| Synaptic Knob | Slight enlargements on the wispy branches at the ends of axons. |
| Temporal Lobe | Cerebral structure located on either side of the cerebrum, associated primarily with speech, language, and hearing. |
| Thalamus | A small brain structure that serves as a major relay center for incoming sensory signals. |
| Theta Waves | Slow brain waves (4 to 7 per second) characteristic of the early stages of sleep. |
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