Edition Verified Chapters 1 - 14, Complete Newest
Version
Explain the following terms?
biological psychology - ANSWER:Also called behavioral neuroscience. The study of
the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior.
neuroscience - ANSWER:The study of the nervous system.
conserved - ANSWER:In the context of evolution, referring to a trait that is passed on
from a common ancestor to two or more descendant species.
ontogeny - ANSWER:The process by which an individual changes in the course of its
lifetime--that is, grows up and grows old.
somatic intervention - ANSWER:An approach to finding relations between body
variables and behavioral variables that involves manipulating body structure or
function and looking for resultant changes in behavior.
independent variable - ANSWER:The factor that is manipulated by an experimenter.
dependent variable - ANSWER:The factor that an experimenter measures to monitor
a change in response to changes in an independent variable.
behavioral intervention - ANSWER:An approach to finding relations between body
variables and behavioral variables that involves intervening in the behavior of an
organism and looking for resultant changes in body structure or function.
correlation - ANSWER:the covariation of two measures.
neuroplasticity or neural plasticity - ANSWER:The ability of the nervous system to
change in response to experience or the environment.
reductionism - ANSWER:The scientific strategy of breaking down into increasingly
smaller parts in order to understand it.
levels of analysis - ANSWER:The scope of experimental approaches. A scientist may
try to understand behavior by monitoring molecules, nerve cells, brain regions, or
social environments, or some combination of these levels of analysis.
dualism - ANSWER:The notion, promoted by Rene Descartes, that the mind is subject
only to spiritual interactions, while the body is subject only to material interactions.
, phrenology - ANSWER:The belief that bumps on the skull reflect enlargements of
brain regions responsible for certain behavioral faculties.
consciousness - ANSWER:The state of awareness of one's own existence and
experience.
neuron or nerve cell - ANSWER:The basic unit of the nervous system, each composed
of a cell body, receptive extensions(s) (dendrites), and a transmitting extension
(axon).
neuron doctrine - ANSWER:The hypothesis that the brain is composed of separate
cells that are distinct structurally, metabolically, and functionally.
synapse - ANSWER:The tiny gap between neurons where information is passed from
one to the other.
glial cells - ANSWER:Also called glia or neuroglia. Nonneuronal brain cells that
provide structural, nutritional, and other types of support to the brain.
mitochondrion - ANSWER:A cellular organelle that provides metabolic energy for the
cell's processes.
cell nucleus - ANSWER:The spherical central structure of a cell that contains the
chromosomes.
ribosomes - ANSWER:Structures in the cell body where genetic information is
translated to produce proteins.
dendrite - ANSWER:One of the extensions of the cell body that are the receptive
surfaces of the neuron.
input zone - ANSWER:The part of a neuron that receives information, from other
neurons or from specialized sensory structures. Usually corresponds to the cell's
dendrites.
cell body or soma - ANSWER:The region of a neuron that is defined by the presence
of the cell nucleus.
integration zone - ANSWER:The part of the neuron that initiates nerve electrical
activity. Usually corresponds to the neuron's axon hillock.
axon - ANSWER:A single extension from the nerve cell that carries nerve impulses
from the cell body to other neurons.
conduction zone - ANSWER:The part of the neuron over which the nerve's electrical
signal may be actively propagated. Usually corresponds to the cell's axon.