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Cell body

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Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm

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Dendrites

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A neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

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Axon

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the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

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Myelin

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A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

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Sensory neurons

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Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

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Motor neurons

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

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Interneurons

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neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

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Mirror neurons

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Frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy.

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Resting potential

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The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane

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action potential

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

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refractory period

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(neurology) the time after a neuron fires or a muscle fiber contracts during which a stimulus will not evoke a response

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Agonists

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increase the action of a neurotransmitter

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Antagonists

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block the function of a neurotransmitter

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Acetylcholine (ACh) (neurotransmitter)

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enables muscle action, learning, and memory

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Dopamine (neurotransmitter)

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influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

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Serotonin

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affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

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norepinephrine

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helps control alertness and arousal

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GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

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a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

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Glutamate

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a major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

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Acetylcholine malfunction

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with alzheimer's disease, ACh producing neurons deteriorate

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Dopamine malfunctions

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excess ______ receptor activity is linked to schizophrenia. Starved of _____, the brain produces the tremors and decreased mobility of Parkinson's disease

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serotonin malfunctions

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undersupply linked to depression. Prozac and some other antidepressant drugs raise _____ levels

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norepinephrine malfunctions

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undersupply can depress mood

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GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) malfunctions

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undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia

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glutamate malfunctions

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oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing migranes or seizures (which is why some people avoid MSG, monosodium ___, in food)

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Collosum

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Wide band of axon fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain.

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Cerebral Cortex

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The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

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Corpus collosum

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Band of neural tissue that allows the left an right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex to communicate with each other.

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Wilder Penfield

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mapped the motor cortex

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frontal lobe

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portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements in making plans and judgements

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parietal lobe

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portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

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occipital lobe

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portion of the the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

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temporal lobe

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portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; including the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

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Brain plasticity

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

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Somatosenory cortex

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area of neurons running down the front of the parietal lobes responsible for processing information from the skin and internal body receptors for touch, temperature, body position, and possibly taste.

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Broca's Area

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controls language expression - an area, usually in the left frontal lobe, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

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Wernicke's area

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controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

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hemispheric specialization

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term used to describe the fact the two hemisheres of the brain are designed to handle specific tasks (Left - logic, language; Right - creativity, spatial reasoning, art, emotion)

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Neurogenesis

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Formation of new neurons

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brain stem

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Connection to spinal cord. Filters information flow between peripheral nervous system and the rest of the brain. the brain's oldest and innermost region

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medula

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controls heartbeat + breathing (basic life sustaining functions)

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pons

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helps coordinate movement (burst of neural activity every 90 min during sleep)

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reticular formation

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

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thalamus

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acts as the brain's sensory switchboard. it receives information from all senses (except smell) and routes it to the higher brain regions that deal with seeing, hearing, taste, touch, etc.

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cerebellum

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"little brain" enables one type of nonverbal learning and memory. It helps us judge time, modulate emotions, and discriminate sounds and textures. also coordinates voluntary movement and balance and supports memories of such

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limbic system

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donut shaped neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located between the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

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amygdala

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two lima bean neural clusters. linked to emotions

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spinal cord

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pathway for neural fibers traveling to and from brain; controls simple reflexes

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cerebral cortex

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ultimate control and information-processing center

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hypothalamus

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controls maintenance functions such as eating; helps govern endocrine system; linked to emotions and rewards

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hippocampus

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linked to the formation of memory

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pituitary gland

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master gland

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aphasia

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an impaired use of language

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angular gyrus

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transforms visual representations into an auditory code (involved in reading out loud)

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visual cortex

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Area of the brain responsible for the initial conscious registration of visual information; the designation of electric (nerve) impulses from the retina

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motor cortex

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initiates movement

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