Spotlight on Terminology and Language – ESL
Pointers
Module 7: The Nervous System and the
Endocrine System: Communicating within the
Body
Page 81 “Because each neuron can be connected
to 80,000 other neurons, the total number of
possible connections is astonishing.”
When something is astonishing it is surprising or
unbelievable.
Page 81 “However, connections among neurons
are not the only means of communication within
the body; as we’ll see, the endocrine system,
which secretes chemical messages that circulate
through the blood, also communicates messages
that influence behavior and many aspects of
biological functioning (Kandel, Schwartz, &
Jessell, 2000; Boahen, 2005; Forlenza, & Baum,
2004).”
An aspect is a characteristic or feature of
something.
Page 81 “Whatever the actual number of neural
connections, the human nervous system has both
logic and elegance.”
Logic is the science of identifying ideas so that
they are not confused with something else, and
combining ideas so that they lead to an
unmistakable conclusion.
Elegance represents the idea that everything fits
together beautifully and sensibly.
Page 81 “As you can see from the schematic
representation in Figure 1, the nervous system is
divided into two main parts: the central nervous
system and the peripheral nervous system.”
When you see a schematic, you are seeing a
diagram or a drawing that is being used to help
illustrate what the author is discussing. It is
important to look at all the schematics and review
them.
Page 81 “An example is the way the knee jerks
forward when it is tapped with a rubber hammer.”
A jerk is a sudden movement. A knee jerk
occurs when the leg suddenly moves after it is
tapped.
Page 82 “In a less severe but still debilitating
condition, paraplegia, people are unable to
voluntarily move any muscles in the lower
half of the body.”
A disease that is debilitating weakens
someone’s strength or energy.
Page 83 “The autonomic division plays a
particularly crucial role during emergencies.”
Crucial means a part that the whole cannot
exist without.
Page 83 “As you look up, you see the glint of
something that might be a knife.”
A glint is a brief flash of daylight or
something shiny.
Page 83 “As confusion clouds your mind and
fear overcomes your attempts to think
rationally, what happens to your body?”
When something is said to cloud your mind it
means that things are becoming unclear or
difficult to understand.
Page 83 “Your heart rate increases, you begin
to sweat, and you develop goose bumps all
over your body.”
Goose bumps are pimples or bumps that
appear on the skin of the arms. These bumps
do not last very long and are often brought
about by fear.
Page 83 “For instance, sexual arousal is
controlled by the parasympathetic division,
but sexual orgasm is a function of the
sympathetic division.”
An orgasm is the climax of a sexual act, when
certain muscles contract involuntarily and are
accompanied by a feeling of euphoria.
Page 63 “The forerunner of the human
nervous system is found in the earliest simple
organisms to have a spinal cord.”
A forerunner is a something that goes ahead of
something.
environment, and even to seek out particular
kinds of environments.”
Page 83 “Furthermore, the nervous system is
hierarchically organized, meaning that relatively
newer (from an evolutionary point of view) and
more sophisticated regions of the brain regulates
the older, and more primitive, parts of the nervous
system.”
Something that has a sole source has only one
thing that causes it; solely means by itself.
A hierarchy is a structure where the top level is
supported by a level beneath it, which in turn is
supported by a lower level, like a pyramid. A
system that is hierarchically organized has its
most complex or important part at the top.
Page 83-84 “Their work, in conjunction with the
research of scientists studying genetics,
biochemistry, and medicine, has led to an
understanding of how our behavior is affected by
heredity, our genetically-determined heritage.”
Your genetically determined heritage is the things
you inherit from your parents and grandparents.
They are the things you are born with or born into.
Page 84 “In fact, evolutionary psychologists have
spawned a new and increasingly influential field:
behavioral genetics.”
When some spawns an idea or a thing they have
generated or created it. The research of
evolutionary psychology has spawned, or created,
new fields of study, one of them being behavioral
genetics.
Page 84 “Behavioral genetics lies at the heart of
the nature-nurture question, one of the key issues
in the study of psychology.”
Something that lies at the heart of something is
the foundation or base of it.
The nature-nurture question in psychology refers
to the question as to whether biological make-up
or the environment you are raised in has more
influence over a person’s behavior.
Page 84 “Although no one would argue that our
behavior is determined solely by inherited factors,
evidence collected by behavioral geneticists does
suggest that our genetic inheritance predisposes
us to respond in particular ways to our
When we are predisposed toward something
we are inclined to do it.
Page 84 “For example, researchers have found
evidence that novelty-seeking behavior is
determined, at least in part, by a certain gene.”
A novelty is something new or original, thus
novelty-seeking behavior occurs when a
person continually tries to find new things.
Page 85 “Children with this gene, a variation
of the gene called HOXA1, are twice as likely
to develop the disorder as children who not
have this variant. (Hyman,2003; Gregg et al.,
2007)
The words variation and variant both contain
the same idea – that they are different from the
normal or standard, they represent change or
an alternative.
Page 85 “In examining the genetic roots of
various behaviors, the study of behavior
genetics has stirred controversy.”
When something stirs controversy it
generates or causes disagreement or debate.
Page 85 “In gene therapy, scientists inject
genes meant to cure a particular disease into a
patient’s bloodstream.”
A patient’s bloodstream refers to the flow of
blood through the veins and arteries of the
body.
Page 86 “Scientists have already developed
genetic tests to determine whether someone is
susceptible to certain types of cancer or heart
disease, and it may not be long before analysis
of a drop of blood can indicate whether a
child—or potentially an unborn fetus—is
susceptible to certain psychological
disorders.”
When someone is susceptible to a disease
they are at risk for developing that illness.
Page 66 “Its job is to secrete hormones, chemical
that circulate through the blood and affect the
functioning or growth of other parts of the body.”
Secreting is the process of producing a substance
from the cells and fluids and discharging it.
Circulate refers to the circular flow of blood and
hormones through the body.
Page 86 “As chemical messengers, hormones are
like neurotransmitters, although their speed and
mode of transmission are quite different.”
In this context, mode means a state or condition, a
type of action or way of doing something, just as a
radio is always in receive mode.
Page 86 “Just as radio waves evoke a response
only when a radio is tuned to correct station,
hormones flowing though the bloodstream activate
only those cells that are receptive and ‘tuned’ to
the appropriate hormonal message.”
Evoke means to bring out, like a sad song may
bring a lump to throat or a tear to the eye.
When something is receptive, it ready to respond
to a particular stimulus, like a runner waiting for
the starting gun to go off.
Cuddling refers to the action of hugging or
embracing another person.
Page 86-87 “There’s even evidence that
oxytocin is related to the development of trust
in others, helping to grease the wheels of
effective social interaction (Quadros et al.,
2002; Kosfeld et al., 2005; Meinschmidt &
Heim, 2007).”
To grease the wheels of something is to make
it easy to do.
Page 87 “Although hormones are produced
naturally by the endocrine system, the
ingestion of artificial hormones has proved to
be both beneficial and potentially dangerous.”
To ingest something is to eat or drink
something.
Page 87 “For example, before the early 2000s,
physicians frequently prescribed hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) to treat symptoms
of menopause in older women.”
Menopause is a period of the life of a woman
during which her hormone levels drop and her
ability to conceive children stops.
Page 86 “But the pituitary gland is more than just
the taskmaster of the other glands; it has
important functions in its own right.”
Page 87 “For athletes and others who want to
bulk up their appearance, steroids provide a
way to add muscle weight and increase
strength.”
A taskmaster assigns jobs to others; the boss who
tells everyone else what to do.
When athletes bulk up they add muscles and
gain weight in order to increase their strength.
Page 86 “Despite its designation as the ‘master
gland’, the pituitary is actually a servant of the
brain, because the brain is ultimately responsible
for the endocrine system’s functioning.”
Page 87-88 “For example, in one infamous
case, professional wrestler Chris Benoit
strangled his wife, suffocated his son, and later
hanged himself – acts that were attributed to
his use of steroids. (Klotz, 2006; Pagonis et
al., 2006; Sandomir, 2007)”
A servant is the opposite of the master, doing
whatever the master says to do.
Page 86 “Individual hormones can wear many
hats, depending on circumstances.”
To wear many hats is to be responsible for
several different jobs.
Page 86 “The same hormone also seems to
stimulate cuddling between species members.”
To be infamous is to be well known for a
negative reason.