Preisser

Chapter 2
Handout to Help you Study and Learn

1. Two fields that study the biological basis of behavior are: P__________________________________
and N______________________________. The first one focuses on ______________________________________
while the second one studies the b_____________________ and the n_______________________________.
2. Why are the 1990s called the Decade of the Brain?____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
3. Match the following:
_________Neuron

(a) fatty covering around axon

_________Nucleus

(b) receives messages

_________Axon

(c) basic cell in the nervous system

_________Myelin Sheath

(d) sends outgoing messages

_________Dendrites

(e) group of bundled axons

_________Nerve

(f) part of the cell body

4. Sensory neurons carry messages from sense organs to the spinal cord or B____________________.
Motor neurons carry messages from the brain or spinal cord to the muscles and glands. Mirror
neurons are involved in _______________________________________________________.
I__________________________________________ carry messages from one neuron to another.
5. What is the primary function of the glial cells? _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Neural impulse = A______________________________ P_________________________________
The firing of a nerve cell is called an A_________________________________ P________________________________
A resting neuron is in a state of P_________________________________________.
Depolarization occurs when positively charged s________________________ i____________ flow inside the
neuron. When this happens, an electrical charge, called a _________________________________________, OR
A___________________________________ P______________________________________ travels down the axon, much
like a fuse burning from one end to the other.
7. Describe the all-or-none law.___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. The tiny gap separating neurons is the synaptic space or S_________________________ C_______________.
The synapse includes the (1) _____________________________________________________________________________,
(2) ____________________________________________________________, and (3) the D___________________________ or
cell body of the next neuron.
9. When a neuron fires, an impulse travels down the A_____________________, out through the axon
terminals, into a tiny swelling called a T____________________________ B_____________________________ or
synaptic knob. Most T___________________________________ B___________________________________ contain
tiny oval sacs called S__________________________________________ V_____________________________________.
These vesicles release varying amounts of chemicals called N_________________________________________.
10. List the major neurotransmitters:
A____________________________________________ (muscle action; arousal; memory; linked to Alzheimers)
D____________________________________________ (learning; emotions; Parkinsons and schizophrenia)
S_____________________________________________ (sleep; mood; pain; aggression; linked to depression)
N____________________________________________ (arousal; wakefulness; learning; memory; mood)
E____________________________________________ (inhibition of pain; released during exercise)
11. Neural P_____________________________________ is the ability of the brain to change in response to
experience and/or to adapt to new conditions. In 1984, M. R. Rosenzweig found that rats raised
in E____________________________________ environments had larger Neurons with more
S____________________________ C_______________________ than those raised in impoverished environments.
12. New research has shown that adult brains are capable of N___________________________________, the
production of new brain cells.
13. Diagram the nervous system and know the function of each component:

14. The brain can be divided into three regions. These are the (1) central core, (2) cerebral
cortex or hemispheres, and (3) limbic system.
15. Central Core Match the following:
_______ Medulla

(a) sends alert messages to the brain

_______ Pons

(b) breathing, heart rate and blood pressure

_______ Cerebellum

(c) sleep-wake cycle

_______ Reticular formation

(d) sense of balance and bodily coordination

16. Cerebral Cortex

Covering the central core is the C____________________________. The cerebrum is divided into two
halves, the R_____________________ Hemisphere and the L__________________ Hemisphere; and is
covered by a thin layer of gray matter that is called the C_____________________ C_____________________.
The left hemisphere is most responsible for language and logic; the right for nonverbal skills and
spatial tasks. The R___________________ and L___________________ Hemispheres are connected by the
C__________________________________C____________________________________.
The hemispheres are divided into four lobes: F________________________, P____________________________,
O______________________________________ and T_______________________________________________.
Match the lobes with their function:
___________ Frontal

(a) complex tasks; goal-directed acts; problem solving; personality

___________Parietal

(b) hearing; smell; balance and equilibrium; emotion

___________Occipital

(c) sensory information; touch; spatial ability

___________Temporal

(d) to see; visual processing

The primary motor cortex plays a key role in V________________________________ Action.

The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in goal-directed behavior, the ability to control
impulses, judgment, and M________________________________, which involves awareness and thoughts.
17. The Limbic System
The L__________________________ S________________________ plays a central role in times of stress,
coordinating and integrating the activity of the nervous system.
_______ Thalamus

(a) hunger, thirst, sexual drive and body temperature

_______ Hypothalamus

(b) regulating emotions and establishing emotional memories

_______ Amygdala

(c) formation of new memories

_______ Hippocampus

(d) relay station, or the processing of sensory information

3

18. Contemporary neuroscientists have four basic techniques for studying the brain:
1. micro_________________________________________, or looking at individual neurons;
2. macro_________________________________________, looking at the neural activity like EEGs;
3. structural i___________________________________, including CAT scans and MRIs;
4. functional i____________________________________, including EEG imaging and magnetic imaging,
positron emission tomography and functional MRI.
19. The S_________________________ C________________________ is our communication superhighway,
connecting the brain to most of the rest of the body. There are two major neural pathways in the
spinal cord as well as two types of neurons in the peripheral nervous system. One consists of
M___________________ or E___________________________ neurons, which descend from the brain and carry
messages from the Central Nervous System (CNS). The other types are Afferent or Sensory
neurons that carry information to the CNS and brain.
20. Match the following:
_________Somatic nervous system

(a) involuntary action of the internal organs

_________Autonomic nervous system

(b) state of intense arousal, emergency response

_________Sympathetic division

(c) calming down of the body

_________Parasympathetic division

(d) voluntary movement

21. The N______________________________ S________________________________ is not the only mechanism that

regulates the functioning of our bodies. There is also the endocrine system.
E______________________________ G______________________ release chemical substances called hormones
that are carried throughout the body. H______________________________ serve a similar function to
neurotransmitters: They carry messages. (Review the Check Your Understanding box on page 67.)
22. Two different but related fields address the influence of heredity on human behavior.
B____________________________________ G_________________________________ focuses on heredity while
E________________________________________ P____________________________________ studies the evolutionary
roots of behaviors and mental processes that all humans share.
23. The basic units of inheritance are called G_____________________. The nucleus of each cell
contains C_________________________________________. Humans have ______________ pairs of chromosomes
in every cell except the sex cells. Genes, like chromosomes, occur in pairs. One may be a
D________________________________ gene, the other a R_______________________________________ gene.
G______________________= genetic blueprint and P______________________ = outward expression of a trait.