Acetylcholine A
neurotransmitter that plays an important role in
attention, learning, and memory.
Amygdala Part
of the limbic system always alert to threats.
Axon The
long branch of a nerve cell that transmits information
to other cells.
Conditioning A
learned response to a stimulus that always precedes
an event, as if the stimulus were the event itself.
Cortex The
wrinkled layers of cells covering the surface of
the brain, sometimes called gray matter.
Declarative
Memory The conscious recollection
of facts and events; also called explicit memory.
Dendrite A
branch of a nerve cell that receives information
from other cells.
Dopamine A “pleasure” neurotransmitter
that plays a central role in the brain’s internal
reward system.
Episodic
Memory Conscious memory for what
happened, where. Sometimes called “autobiographical
memory.”
Frontal
Lobes The
most recently evolved section of the brain, used
for conscious planning, problem solving, and
control of emotion.
Glutamate A
neurotransmitter that plays a central role in creating
learning and memory pathways between brain cells.
Gray
matterSee cortex.
Habituation An
unconscious form of learning by which our brain learns
to ignore a repeatedly-applied stimulus once it has
been categorized as non-threatening.
Hippocampus A
part of the limbic system crucial for creating
and accessing long-term memories.
Limbic
System A collection of structures
that play important roles in emotion, memory,
and attention.
Long-term
Potentiation The process underlying
learning and memory by which one brain cell
becomes sensitive to stimulation from a neighbor
cell.
Myelin The
insulation surrounding a brain cell’s axon.
Neurogenesis The
production of new brain cells.
Neuron A
nerve cell, or cell in the nervous system (which
includes the brain). Often used interchangeably with brain
cell.
Neurotransmitter A
chemical messenger that brain cells use to communicate
with one another.
Nondeclarative
Memory Unconscious forms of memory
and learning that influence behavior without
our being aware of it. Also called implicit
memory.
Priming A
form of subliminal memory in which one piece of information
can cue recall of another.
Procedural
Memory Automatic memory for skills
and habits, such as how to ride a bike or sign
one’s name; also “muscle memory.”
Serotonin A “feel-good” neurotransmitter
linked to mood, raised by antidepressants such as
Prozac.
Subliminal Below
the level of consciousness
Synapse The
tiny gap between brain cells across which neurotransmitter
chemicals convey messages.
White
Matter The part of the brain
beneath the cortex that consists mostly of brain
cell axons sheathed in myelin.
Working
Memory A short-term memory system
for holding information “online” and
manipulating it to solve problems.
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