Chapter 12 Biological Psychology Terms

What is the Behavioral Activation System
*BAS - Left brain hemispheric activity marked by low to moderate autonomic arousal and a tendency to approach, which could characterize either happiness or anger.

What is the Behavioral Inhibition System
*BIS - Right brain hemispheric activity, which increases attention and arousal, inhibits action, and stimulates emotions such as fear and disgust

What is the James-Lange Theory
*Proposal that an event first evokes the autonomic arousal and skeletal responses and that the feeling aspect of emotion is the perception of those responses.

What is Limbic System
*Interlinked structures that form a border around the brainstem

What is a Panic Attack
*Period marked by extreme sympathetic nervous system arousal

What is a Pure Autonomic Failure
*Condition when output from the autonomic nervous system to the body fails

What is a Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis
*A set of neurons that connect to the amygdala

What are Benzodiazepines
*Anti-anxiety drugs

What is Receptor/*GABA a Receptor
*Receptor complex structure that includes a site that binds GABA as well as sites that modify the sensitivity of the GABA site

What is a 5-hydroxyindoleacetic Acid
*The main metabolite of serotonin

What is a Panic Disorder
*Condition marked by frequent periods of anxiety and rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweating, and trembling

What is a Startle Reflex
*Response that one makes after a sudden, unexpected loud noise or similar sudden stimulus

What is Turnover
*Release and resythesis of a neurotransmitter

What is Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
*ACTH - Chemical released from the anterior pituitary glad which enhances metabolic activity and elavates blood sugar levels

What is an Antibody
*Y-shaped proteins that attach to particular kinds of antigens

What is an Antigen
*Surface proteins on a cell that identify the cell as your own

What is Behavioral Medicine
*field that includes the effects of diet, smoking, exercise, stressful expriences, and other behaviors on health

What is Cortisol
*Hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex that elevates blood sugar and enhances metabolism

What are Cytokines
*Small proteins that combat infections and communicate with the brain to elicit appropriate behaviors

What is General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
*A generalized response to stress

What is the HPA Axis
*Circuit between the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands

What is the Immune System
*Strucures that protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other intruders

What is a Leukocyte
*White blood cells

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
*A condition resulting from a severe traumatic experience, leading to long-lasting state of frequent recollections and nightmares about the event, avoidance of reminders of it, and exaggerated arousal

What is Psychoneuroimmunology
*Study of the ways in which experiences, especially stressful ones, alter the immune system and how the immune system influences the central nervous system

What is Stress
*The nonspecific responses of the body to any demand made upon it, also defined as events that are interpreted as threatening.