Unpacked Content
Knowledge
Students know:
- The basic anatomy of the nervous systems.
- Basic processes in chemistry, including diffusion and ion exchange.
- The basic concepts of genetics, including genes, DNA, and chromosomes.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Summarize complex biological processes into simpler but still accurate terms.
- Determine the meaning of key terms and concepts from biopsychology.
- Synthesize information from a range of sources about biological processes to describe complex behavior and mental processes coherently.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- The nervous system has a specific organization and function.
- Drugs affect the communication of the nervous systems.
- Neurons communicate electrochemically.
- The brain is organized by structure and function.
- There are many ways in which researchers study the brain and nervous systems.
- Hemispheric lateralization works in split and whole brains.
- Behavior and mental processes are influenced by genetics and environmental factors.
Vocabulary
- central nervous system
- peripheral nervous system
- autonomic nervous system
- skeletal (somatic) nervous system
- sympathetic nervous system
- parasympathetic nervous system
- neuron
- dendrites
- axon
- semipermeable
- ion
- resting potential
- action potential
- sodium-potassium pump
- myelin
- terminal buttons
- all-or-none law
- thresholds
- refractory period
- neurotransmitters
- serotonin
- dopamine
- acetylcholine
- GABA
- glutamate
- endorphins
- reuptake
- synapse
- medulla
- pons
- reticular formation
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- frontal lobe
- parietal lobe
- occipital lobe
- temporal lobe
- corpus callosum
- motor cortex
- sensory cortex
- Broca's area
- Wernicke's area
- right visual field
- left visual field
- epilepsy
- hemisphere lateralization
- DNA
- genes
- chromosomes
- identical twins
- fraternal twins
- adoption studies
- EEG
- PET scan
- CT scan
- MRI
- fMRI
