Psychology Exam 2

What is the largest part of your brain?

What does the central nervous system contain?

What is found at the base of the brain?

Which part of the brain smooths out movement?

What part of the brain controls hunger and thirst?

The _____________ are membranes that cover the brain

the cerebrum consists of two halves called the left and right _______________

Very early in life, brain cells stop...

The control center for thinking is the...

Emphasizes the evolutionary mechanisms that might help explain commonalities in language, learning, attention, perception, memory, sexual behavior, cooperation, helpfulness to others, emotion, and reasoning

Attempts to tease apart the relative contributions of heredity and environment to explain individual differences in personality, mental ability, and other characteristics

genetic make up for a trait

actual trait you display

a change in gene frequencies within a population over many generations

The evolutionary process in which individuals with genetically influenced traits that are adaptive in a particular environment tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers

What are the 5 innate human characteristics

A system that combines meaningless elements such as sounds or gestures to form structured utterances that convey meaning

the way a sentence is spoken

How a sentence is to be understood

Our ability to learn language is innate, but is also influenced by our experiences
True or False?

Interdisciplinary field that emphasizes evolutionary explanations of social behavior in animals

A statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals in a group

Intelligence is primarily the result of environmental influences rather than heredity. 
True or False?

Measure of intelligence originally computed by dividing a person's mental age by his/her chronological age and multiplying by 100

Intelligence scores of identical twins are always correlated more strongly than those of fraternal twins. True or False?

The scores of adopted children are strongly correlated with those of their biological parents. True or False?

Study the brain and the rest of the nervous system in order to gain a better understanding of behavior

Handles the central nervous system's input and output

A collection of neurons and supportive tissue running from the base of the brain down the center of the back. Protected by the spinal column

What are the 2 structures located in the central nervous system?

All portions of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord, it includes sensory and motor nerves.

The subdivision of the PNS that connects to sensory receptors and to skeletal muscles

The subdivision of the PNS that regulates internal organs and glands

The subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes bodily resources and increases the output of energy during emotion and stress

The subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that operates during relaxed states and that conserves energy

The brains communication specialists, transmitting information to, from, and within the central nervous system

A cell that conducts electrochemical signals; the basic unit of the central nervous system; also called the nerve cell

Provide the neurons with nutrients, insulate them, protect the brain from toxic agents, and remove cellular debris when neurons die. They also communicate chemically with other neurons.

What part of a neuron is tree-like or "branchy"?

Receive information from other neurons and transmit toward the cell body

Keeps the neuron alive and determines whether it will fire

Extending fiber that conducts impulses away from the body and transmits to other cells

A fatty insulation that may surround the axon of a neuron

A bundle of nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system

The production of new neurons from immature stem cells

immature cells that renew themselves and have the potential to develop into mature cells

The site where transmission of a nerve impulse from one nerve cell to another occurs

A brief change in electrical voltage occurs between the inside and outside of an axon when a neuron is stimulated

Chemical released by a transmitting neuron at the synapse and capable of affecting the activity of a receiving neuron

The brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience

Affects sleep, appetite, sensory perception, temp, mood

voluntary, movement, memory, emotions

Muscle action, cognitive functioning, memory, emotions

Heart rate, learning, memory, dreaming, waking, and emotions

Which neurotransmitter affects neurons involved in sleep, appetite, sensory perception, temperature, pain suppression, and mood?

When do hormones travel the fastest?

What gland releases hormones into the bloodstream?

Regulates daily biological rhythms

Involved in emotions and stress

Regulate development and functioning or reproductive organs; Androgens, estrogens, and progesterone

What type of nervous-system chemical enables neurons to excite or inhibit each other

Involves damaging and removing sections of brain in animals, then observing their effects

A recording of neural activity detected by electrodes

Radio frequencies to produce vibrations in nuclei of atoms

Analyzes biochemical activity in brain by using injections containing radioactive elements

Involved in sleeping, waking, and dreaming

Responsible for certain autonomic functions such as breathing and heart rate

Arouses cortex and screens and incoming information

Regulates movement and balance

Involved in remembering simple skills and acquired reflexes; plays a part in understanding words, solving problems, and analyzing sensory information

Relays sensory messages to the cerebral cortex

Involved in emotions and drives vital survival 
(Fear, Food, Thirst, and Sex)

Regulates autonomic nervous system

Small endocrine gland which releases hormones and regulates other endocrine glands

Responsible for: Arousal, regulation of emotion, initial emotional response to sensory information

The part of the brain responsible for the regulation of emotion is called the

largest brain structure

What connects the two hemispheres?

Broca's area in the left hemisphere does what