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110 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
a nerve cell;the basic building block of the nervouse system
the bushy, branching extentions or a neuron that recieve messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. the action potential is generated by the mevement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane
action potential
chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. when released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the recieving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervouse systems
nervouse system
the brain and spinal cord
central nervouse system (CNS)
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervouse system (CNS) to the rest of the body
peripheral nervouse system (PNS)
neural "cables" containing many axons. these bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervouse system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.
neurons that carry incoming info from the sense receptors to the central nervouse system
sensory neurons
neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervouse system to the muscles and glands
motor neurons
the division of the peripheral nervouse system that controls the body's skelital muscles
somatic (skelital) nervous system
autonomic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system
parasympathetic nervous system
a simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as a knee-jerk response
interconnected neural cells. with experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results.
neural networks
the bodys "slow " chemical communication system. a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
endocrine system
a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities, helps govern the endocrine systems via the petuitary gland, and is linked to emotion
cerebral cortex
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movement
motor cortex
the area at the front of the pariental lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
sensory cortex
association areas
the brains capacity for modification, as evedent in brain reorganization following damage and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development
corpus callosum
a condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them
split brain
a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience
a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli
classical conditioning
in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occuring response to the unconditioned stimulous
unconditioned response (UR)
in classical conditioning, a stimulouse that unconditionally-
naturally and automatically-triggers a response
unconditioned stimulouse (US)
in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulouse
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulouse that, after association with an unconditioned stimulouse, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
conditioned stimulous (CS)
the reapperance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
spontaneous recovery
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members
operant conditioning
in operand conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.
positive reinforcement
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock
negative reinforcement
an innately reinforcing stimulous, such as one that satisfies a biological need
primary reinforcer
a stimulous that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer
conditioned (secondary) reinforcer
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs
continuous reinforcement
reinforcing a response only part the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
partial (intermittent) reinforcement
fixed-ratio schedule
variable-ratio schedule
fixed-interval schedule
variable-interval schedule
an event that decreases the behavior that it follows
a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards of threat of punishment
extrinsic motivation
learning by observing others
observational learning
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
mirror neurons
positive, constructive, helpful behavior.
prosocial behavior
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
flashbulb memory
the processing of information into the memory system
the retention of encoded information over time
the process of getting information out of memory storage
the immediate, very brieg recording of sensory information in the memory system
sensory memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the info is stored or forgotten
short-term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.
long-term memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information ritrieved from long term memory.
working memory
automatic processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
effortful processing
the conscious repitition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention that is achieved through massed study or practice
spacing effect
memory aids, expecially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
a meamory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time
mood-congruent memory
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
proactive interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
retroactive interference
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
misinformation effect
a mental image or best example of a category.
a methodical, logical rule of procedure that gaurantees solving a particular problem.
a simple thinking strategy that allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions
confirmation bias
estimating the likelihood of eventsbased on their availibility in memory
availibility heuristic
the tendency to be more confident than correct
belief bias
belief perserverance
periodic physiological fluctuations
biological rhythms
circadian rhythm
a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur.
REM sleep
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external stimulus
sleep apnea
a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified. occur 2 to 3 hrs after falling asleep during stage 4, cant be remembered
night terrors
according to freud, the remembered story line of a dream
manifest content
according to freud, the underlying meaning of a dream
latent content
the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
REM rebound
a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perseptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaniously occur