Neuropsychology
AP Psychology
Chapters 2 & 3
Essential Question 1 - Neurotransmission
How do nerve cells generate impulses, communicate with other nerve cells, and become influenced by
neurotransmitters?
Pages: 53-60
Key Terms: neuron, dendrite, axon, myelin sheath, action potential, refractory period, threshold, all-or-none response, synapse,
neurotransmitters, reuptake, endorphins, agonist, antagonist
Essential Question 2 - Nervous and Endocrine Systems
What are the functions of the nervous and endocrine systems?
Pages: 61-67
Key Terms: central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, sensory (afferent) neurons, motor (efferent) neurons, interneurons,
somatic neurons system, autonomic nervous system, sypathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system, neural networks,
endocrine system, hormones, pituitary gland
Essential Question 3 - Older Brain Structures
What are the functions or each of the components of the brain stem and limbic system?
Pages: 67-74
Key Terms: lesion, EEG, CT, PET, MRI, fMRI, brainstem, medulla, reticular activating system (reticular formation), thalamus,
cerebellum, limbic system, amygdala, hypothalamus
Essential Question 4 - Cerebral Cortex
What are the regions and functions of the cerebral cortex?
Pages: 74-83
Key Terms: cerebral cortex, glial cells, frontal lobes, parietal lobes, occipital lobes, temporal lobes, motor cortex, somatosensory
cortex, association areas, aphasia, Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, plasticity, neurogenesis
Essential Question 5 - Brain Hemispheres
How does split-brain research help us understand the functions of the two brain hemispheres?
Pages: 83-91
Key Terms: corpus callosum, left brain, right brain, dual processing
Essential Questions 6 - Predicting Individual Differences
What is the interaction between heredity and environment?
Pages: 95-106
Key Terms: chromosomes, DNA, genes, genome, identical (monozygotic) twins, fraternal (dizygotic) twins, temperament
Essential Questions 7 - Evolutionary Psychology
How do evolutionary psychologists use natural selection to explain individual differences?
Pages: 107-113
Key Terms: evolutionary psychology, natural selection, mutation, gender