AP Psychology Unit 2 Questions & Answers
1.biological psychologists
Answer the scientific study of the links between biological and
psychological processes.
2.neuron
Answer a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
3.dendrites
Answer the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
4.axon
Answer the neuron extension that passes and electrical messages
through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
5.myelin sheath
Answer a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many
neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural
impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
6.action potential
Answer a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an
axon.
7.refractory period
Answer a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired.
8.threshold
Answer the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
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, 9.all-or-nothing response
Answer a neuron's reaction of either firing or not firing.
10.synapse
Answer the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and
the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this
junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.
11.neurotransmitters
Answer chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps be- tween
neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across
the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron,
thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural
impulse.
12.reuptake
Answer a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron.
13.endorphins
Answer "morphine within"—natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked
to pain control and to pleasure.
14.Agonist
Answer A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
15.Antagonists
Answer Chemical substances that block or reduce a cell's response to
the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters.
16.nervous system
Answer the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network,
consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous
systems.
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10
1.biological psychologists
Answer the scientific study of the links between biological and
psychological processes.
2.neuron
Answer a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
3.dendrites
Answer the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
4.axon
Answer the neuron extension that passes and electrical messages
through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
5.myelin sheath
Answer a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many
neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural
impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
6.action potential
Answer a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an
axon.
7.refractory period
Answer a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired.
8.threshold
Answer the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
1/
10
, 9.all-or-nothing response
Answer a neuron's reaction of either firing or not firing.
10.synapse
Answer the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and
the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this
junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft.
11.neurotransmitters
Answer chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps be- tween
neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across
the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron,
thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural
impulse.
12.reuptake
Answer a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron.
13.endorphins
Answer "morphine within"—natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked
to pain control and to pleasure.
14.Agonist
Answer A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
15.Antagonists
Answer Chemical substances that block or reduce a cell's response to
the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters.
16.nervous system
Answer the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network,
consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous
systems.
2/
10
