Behavioral Neuroscience Cheat Sheet
The core ideas of Behavioral Neuroscience distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.
Quick Reference
Neurotransmission
The process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron, cross the synaptic cleft, and bind to receptors on a postsynaptic neuron, thereby transmitting information throughout the nervous system.
Neuroplasticity
The brain's ability to reorganize its structure, function, and connections in response to experience, learning, injury, or environmental change. This includes synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and cortical remapping.
Hebbian Learning
The principle that when one neuron repeatedly contributes to firing another, the synaptic connection between them is strengthened. Often summarized as 'neurons that fire together, wire together,' this mechanism underlies associative learning and memory formation.
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A persistent strengthening of synaptic connections based on recent patterns of high-frequency stimulation. LTP is widely considered a primary cellular and molecular mechanism underlying learning and memory.
The Reward System
A collection of brain structures, primarily involving the mesolimbic dopamine pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, that mediates motivation, reinforcement, and pleasure in response to natural rewards and drugs of abuse.
HPA Axis and Stress Response
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a neuroendocrine feedback system that regulates the body's response to stress. When a stressor is detected, the hypothalamus releases CRH, which triggers ACTH release from the pituitary, stimulating cortisol secretion from the adrenal glands.
Lateralization of Brain Function
The tendency for certain cognitive processes to be more dominant in one cerebral hemisphere than the other. Language processing is typically lateralized to the left hemisphere, while spatial attention and emotional prosody tend to be lateralized to the right hemisphere.
Classical Conditioning (Neural Basis)
A form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a biologically significant stimulus through repeated pairing. At the neural level, this involves synaptic strengthening in specific circuits, particularly the amygdala for fear conditioning and the cerebellum for eyeblink conditioning.
Action Potential
A rapid, transient electrical signal propagated along the axon of a neuron. It occurs when the membrane potential reaches a threshold, causing voltage-gated sodium channels to open, followed by potassium channels, producing an all-or-none depolarization wave.
Behavioral Genetics
A subfield that examines how genetic variation contributes to individual differences in behavior. Using twin studies, adoption studies, genome-wide association studies, and gene knockout models, researchers estimate the heritability of behavioral traits and identify specific genetic influences.
Key Terms at a Glance
Get study tips in your inbox
We'll send you evidence-based study strategies and new cheat sheets as they're published.
We'll notify you about updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.