The brief time interval following an action potential when a neuron is incapable of being stimulated to fire another impulse An excitatory neurotransmitter that operates at synapses with muscles and is also the transmitter in some neural networks involved in memory A nerve impulse resulting from the depolarization of an axon's cell membrane Endocrine glands that release stress hormones, including catecholamines and corticosteroids A drug that increases or mimics the activity of a neurotransmitter States that an action potential is not proportional to the intensity of stimulation; either a neuron fires with maximum intensity or it does not fire A limbic system structure that helps organize emotional response patterns A drug that inhibits or decreases the action of a neurotransmitter The partial or total loss of ability to understand speech (receptive aphasia) or to produce it (productive aphasia) The areas of the Cerebral Cortex that do not have sensory or motor functions but are involved in the integration of neural activity that underlies perception, language, and other high-order mental processes The branch of the peripheral nervous system that activates the body's involuntary muscles (e

1. Absolute Refractory Period

The brief time interval following an action potential when a neuron is incapable of being stimulated to fire another impulse

2. Acetylcholine (Ach)

An excitatory neurotransmitter that operates at synapses with muscles and is also the transmitter in some neural networks involved in memory

3. Action Potential

A nerve impulse resulting from the depolarization of an axon's cell membrane

4. Adrenal Glands

Endocrine glands that release stress hormones, including catecholamines and corticosteroids

5. Agonist

A drug that increases or mimics the activity of a neurotransmitter

6. All-or-none Law

States that an action potential is not proportional to the intensity of stimulation; either a neuron fires with maximum intensity or it does not fire

7. Amygdala

A limbic system structure that helps organize emotional response patterns

8. Antagonist

A drug that inhibits or decreases the action of a neurotransmitter

9. Aphasia

The partial or total loss of ability to understand speech (receptive aphasia) or to produce it (productive aphasia)

10. Association Cortex

The areas of the Cerebral Cortex that do not have sensory or motor functions but are involved in the integration of neural activity that underlies perception, language, and other high-order mental processes

11. Autonomic Nervous System

The branch of the peripheral nervous system that activates the body's involuntary muscles (e.g. heart) and internal organs

12. Axon

An extension from one side of the neuron cell body that conducts nerve impulses to other neurons, muscles, or glands

13. Brain Stem

The portion of the brain formed by the swelling of the spinal cord as it enters the skull; its structures regulate basic survival functions of the body, such as heart rate and respiration

14. Broca's Area

A region of the left frontal lobe involved in speech production

15. Central Nervous System

The portion of the nervous system that includes the brain and the spinal cord

16. Cerebellum

A convoluted hindbrain structure involved in motor coordination and some aspects of learning and memory

17. Cerebral Cortex

The gray, convoluted outer covering of the brain that is the seat of higher-order sensory, motor, perceptual, and mental processes

18. Cerebrum

The most advanced portion of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex and underlying structures

19. Computerized Axial Tomography (CT or CAT) Scan

A method of scanning the brain with narrow beams of X rays that are then analyzed and combined by a computer to provide pictures of brain structures from many different angles

20. Corpus Callosum

A broad band of white, myelinated fibers that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and allows the two hemispheres to communicate with one another