Division that connects the central nervous system to the rest of the body; divided into somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system

the bodies "slow" chemical communication by secreting hormones directly into the bloodstream

80% of weight of human brain; 70% of CNS's neurons; wrinkled outer portion of un-myelin aided cells (cerebrum) covering both hemispheres; processes thought, vision, language, memory, and emotions; most recently of all part of nervous system

deoxyribonucleic acid; genetic formation in a double-helix; can replicate or reproduce itself; made of genes

distributed widely throughout CNS; involved in arousal, attention, memory, motivation, and movement; involved in muscle action at neuromuscular joints (skeletal muscles); implicated in Alzheimer's disease-loss of memory and severe language problems; too much dopamine = spasms and tremors; too little dopamine = paralysis and torpor

chemical that influences voluntary movement, learning, pleasure, memory,-is implicated in Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia; in Parkinson's disease a causes tremors, muscle spasms, increasing muscular rigidity; recently implicated in ADHD

part of cerebral cortex that receives visual information

the body slow chemical communication system which is made up of a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream; made of the glands-pineal, pituitary, parathyroid, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal, ovaries and testes

small area of the brain that is part of the limbic system and regulates behaviors related to survival such as, eating, drinking, sexual behaviors, motivation

studies of hereditability on the assumption that if a gene influences a certain trait, close relatives should be more similar on that trait in distant relative

twins from a single fertilized oval with the same genetic makeup

adrenaline; activates a sympathetic nervous system by making the heart beat faster, stopping digestion, enlarging pupils, sending sugar into the bloodstream, preparing a blood clot faster

a curved portion of the forebrain structure that is part of the limbic system and is involved in learning and processing new memories

"little brain"; part of the brain that coordinates balance, movement, reflexes

a division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions; it takes a message from the central nervous system to the internal organs

noradrenaline; chemical which is excitatory, similar to adrenaline, and affects arousal and memory; raises blood pressure by causing blood vessels to become constricted, but also carried by bloodstream to the anterior pituitary which relaxes ACTH thus prolonging stress response

the bushy, branching extensions of the cell body that receives messages and conducts impulses; Greek for tree

the full complement of genes within a human cell

studies as identical and rhetorical twins to determine relative influence of heredity and environment on human behavior

chemical inhibiting the transmission of pain, often experienced during exercise, i.e. "runner's high"; discovered in 1970s when trying to find out how opiates were (morphine, heroin); "endorphins" is a pharmacological (drug/med) term

a white, lipoid (fatty) material in casing many neuron fibers and enables faster transmission of an impulse; white matter; it's pinched at intervals; not on all neurons but found throughout the body; insulin to prevent interference from other neurons

study of how traits are transmitted from one generation to the next

member of the gene terror that controls the appearance of a certain trait only if it is paired with the same gene

member of a gene terror that controls the appearance of a certain trait

bundles of axons

pair of threadlike bodies within the cell ridiculous; contains genes

a location on a receptor neurons which is like a key to a lock (with a specific nerve transmitter); allows for orderly pathways

the brain and spinal cord; 90% of the bodies neurons

100 billion in brain; individual cells that are the smallest unit of the nervous system; it has three classes: efferent, afferent, and interneurons; made of Colin dendrites, axons, synaptic gap, terminal buttons, synaptic vesicles, and sometimes myelin

a bundle of neuron axons which act like cables carrying messages to the PNS; connects brain to the rest of the body; wrapped in myelin and, surrounded and protected by vertebral bones; spinal injuries-paralysis, bowel/bladder control, low blood pressure

located above the kidney and secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine; stimulated by autonomic nervous system

chemical messengers released by synaptic vesicles and travel through the synaptic gap assisting neural impulses (messages) as they leave one neuron to the next; affects adjacent neurons; examples: ACh, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and norepinephrine, glutamate, GABA, and glycine

elements that control transmission of traits; on the chromosomes

serves a function similar to neurotransmitters in that they carry messages; chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream; manufactured by glands (mostly); help regulate bodily functions

the point of communication between two neurons-includes axon terminal of the sending neuron, the synaptic space (gap), and dendrites/cell body of the receiving neuron

motor sensory relay center for four of the five senses; and with a brain stem and composed of two egg-shaped structures; integrates in shades incoming sensory signals; Mnemonic-"don't smell the llamas because the llamas smell bad"

involved in complex visual tasks and processing; balance; emotional regulation and maturity; Strong oral and language comprehension; smell; hearing; still developing after age 16

part of the cerebral cortex never see sensory information from skin, muscles, joints, organs, taste buds; involved in spatial/visual abilities and integrates all sensory signals; immature until age 16

large band of white neural fibers that connects to to brain hemispheres and carries messages between them; myelinated; involved in intelligence, consciousness, and self-awareness; does it reach full maturity until 20s

afferent neurons; neurons that carry messages from sensory organs to the brain and spinal cords

two children developed on two separate eggs that share a room; no more genetically similar than other brother and sisters (i.e. different genetic makeup)

research carried out on children,adopted at birth by parents not related to them,to determine the relative influence of heredity and environment on human behavior