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Biological Perspective in Psychology

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  • Neuron

    The basic cell of the nervous system that receives and sends messages within the system.

  • Parts of a Neuron

    Dendrites: receive messages; Soma: cell body maintaining life; Axon: carries messages to other cells.

  • Glial Cells

    Support neurons by providing nutrients, producing myelin, and cleaning up waste.

  • Myelin

    Fatty substance coating axons to insulate, protect, and speed up neural impulses.

  • Resting Potential

    State of a neuron when not firing; inside is negatively charged, outside positively charged.

  • Action Potential

    Neural impulse caused by reversal of electrical charge allowing positive sodium ions to enter the axon.

  • All-or-None Law

    A neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all.

  • Synapse

    Microscopic fluid-filled gap between axon terminals of one neuron and dendrites of another.

  • Neurotransmitter

    Chemical in synaptic vesicles that transmits signals across the synapse to receptor sites.

  • Excitatory vs. Inhibitory Neurotransmitters

    Excitatory causes the receiving neuron to fire; inhibitory causes it to stop firing.

  • Agonists and Antagonists

    Agonists mimic/enhance neurotransmitters; antagonists block or reduce their effects.

  • Acetylcholine (ACh)

    Involved in arousal, attention, memory, and muscle contractions; can be excitatory or inhibitory.

  • Central Nervous System (CNS)

    Consists of the brain and spinal cord; processes information and controls reflexes.

  • Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

    All nerves outside the CNS; divided into somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

  • Somatic Nervous System

    Controls voluntary muscles and carries sensory information to the CNS.

  • Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

    Controls involuntary muscles, organs, and glands; includes sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.

  • Sympathetic Division

    Part of ANS that prepares the body for stress or emergency ('fight or flight').

  • Parasympathetic Division

    Part of ANS that restores the body to normal after arousal and maintains day-to-day functions.

  • Endocrine Glands

    Glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream affecting behavior and bodily functions.

  • General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

    Three stages of physiological response to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

  • Neuroplasticity

    The brain's ability to change structure and function in response to experience or trauma.

  • Broca's Aphasia

    Damage to Broca's area causing difficulty in producing fluent speech.

  • Wernicke's Aphasia

    Damage to Wernicke's area causing difficulty in understanding or producing meaningful language.

  • Split-Brain Research

    Studies patients with severed corpus callosum to show specialization of left and right brain hemispheres.

  • Left Hemisphere Specialization

    Controls language, writing, logical thought, and mathematical abilities.

  • Right Hemisphere Specialization

    Controls emotional expression, spatial perception, facial recognition, and music processing.