PSY 3010 FAMU TEST 2 (chp 3)

• Brain
• chemicals that are housed
• in the axon terminals

Synapse

The small gap at this junction

–comprised of the brain and spinal cord

• –Often referred to as the command
• center

• •The system of neurons in the
• periphery, outside the brain and spinal cord, make up the peripheral nervous
• system (e.g.. neurons going to the arms, legs, internal organs, and other body
• parts)

• •Further broken down into the
• Somatic (SNS) and Autonomic nervous systems (ANS)

• –The somatic system involves neurons in
• the remaining periphery of the body.   

• –Autonomic system involves neurons going
• to parts of the body that are considered to be automatic in their function. For
• example, we don’t have to remind our intestines to work, our hearts to beat, or
• our lungs to take air in and out.

• •The ANS is further broken down into the sympathetic
• division and
• the parasympathetic
• division.

• The
• sympathetic system activates when our autonomic system needs to be excited. 
• •The extra blood flow and oxygen to the
• muscles prepare the body to protect itself and allow us to either escape from
• the danger or fight to overcome the danger (flight-or-fight reaction). 

• •what
• keeps the body calm and allows the heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration
• to function at a resting state.

• •The oldest part of the brain and is
• responsible for automatic survival processes such as arousal and consciousness. 
• •brainstem also plays an important role in
• attention.
• •All information from the body passes
• through the brainstem on its way to the brain

–Medulla 

–Pons

–Reticular formation

• •controls such vital automatic functions
• as heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure. 

•Survival functions controlled are sleep, arousal, and cardiac reflexes.

• -a bundle of nerves that is responsible for arousal and regulating the sleep–wake
• cycle

-regulates the body’s movement and balance. It is also involved in learning processes

• •acts as a sensory relay station that
• processes and relays sensory information between the cortex and the brainstem. 

• •group of body structures responsible for
• emotions, memory, and motivated behaviors.
•  –hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus. 

• •responsible for the formation of new
• memories, as well as spatial memory and navigation. 

-almond-shaped mass of nuclei that controls emotional responses such as rage and fear.

• •located below the thalamus, regulates
• body temperature, circadian rhythm, hunger, and thirst.  

• -The
• hypothalamus also plays a role in regulating the release of hormones in the
• pituitary gland

• -Also the brain structure that influences the endocrine system through its control of the pituitary
• gland.  The pituitary gland regulates growth and is often referred to as “the master gland” because it secretes hormones that
• regulate other glands.

• •The cerebral cortex contains several
• important divisions, including the sensory/motor cortices and the association
• cortex. 

•Sensory cortex

•Motor cortex

•Association

•Frontal lobe

•Parietal lobe

•Occipital lobe

•Temporal lobe

• -responsible
• for processing information in the brain related to the five senses. 

• -Association areas of
• the cerebral cortex are responsible for higher mental processes including
• thinking, language, learning, and information processing.

• -A popular task involving association areas is completing the crossword puzzles
• found in the daily newspaper

• -receives information from neurons
• throughout various areas of the body and in turn produces the body’s voluntary
• movements

• These functions are are planning, movement, and speech. 

• •The parietal cortex is located in the area at the top of the brain toward the middle. 
• •Chief among the functions associated with this cortical region is the processing of tactile sensory information.

• •The occipital lobes are located at the
• back of the skull and just below the parietal lobes.

• •Within this region, the brain receives
• and processes basic visual information.

• •The occipital lobes receive, organize,
• and integrate basic characteristics of objects in our visual fields that are
• helpful in our understanding of them, such as color, shape, size, and so on.

• •Temporal lobes play an integral role in
• the production and processing of language.
• -Damage
• to the left temporal lobe often results in Wernicke’s aphasia (unable
• to understand or comprehend speech)

• –Regulates the release of hormones from
• glands.
• -Once released into the bloodstream, hormones impact changes in various
• body organs, including the brain, as well as in various bodily function

• -release
• epinephrine and norepinephrine in
• response to autonomic nervous system actions to help the body respond to stress
• or emergencies
• -located
• above the kidneys

• -large
• gland in the neck that secretes hormones that regulate the rate of metabolism

• -small glands located in the neck, release
• hormones that regulate calcium levels in the blood and in bones.

• -located below the stomach near the small
• intestines
• -regulates blood glucose levels

• •phrenologists felt the bumps on an
• individual’s head and used that information to determine the individual’s
• traits and characteristics

• •parts of animal brains are cut in order
• to determine which functions are affected

• •Cutting the corpus callosum was
• first used to treat epileptic seizures in those individuals who had severe
• epilepsy

• •The nervous system is
• involved in all psychological processes, whether  affective, behavioral, or cognitive.

•    -Comprised
• of billions of nerve cells called neurons, the brain cells responsible for
• transmitting signals (neural impulses) throughout the body.

• •Neurons  receive signals from sensory receptors in the
• body, process them, and transmit them as neural impulses throughout the nervous
• system and back to the body.

• In
• addition to processing memories, thoughts, and emotions, neurons are
• responsible for regulating life sustaining functions: heartbeat, breathing, and
• body temperature.

Cell Body, Axon, Dendrites

•contains the nucleus of the neuron

• -short,
• busy structures that are connected to the cell body

• •receives messages from the cell body,
• then transmits the signal to axon terminals
• –a fatty substance called myelin. Neural
• impulses of myelinated axons are 10x faster than the impulses of unmyelinated
• axons.

• –When neurons are not transmitting
• information they are “at rest” and polarized. If the neuron is not stimulated,
• the electrical charge will remain constant at about -70 millivolts (mV).

• –When the electrical charge of a neuron
• reverses to become more positive on the inside than the outside (+50 mV), an action
• potential
• occurs.