2B - Conscious and unconscious responses

Question 1

define unconscious response

Answer 1

an automatic and involuntary action that is performed by the body independently of the brain

Question 2

Examples of unconscious responses:

Answer 2

• reflexes such as sneezing or coughing
• spinal reflexes such as withdrawing your hand from a hot object
• shivering when cold and sweating when hot
• blushing when embarrassed
• digestion of food in the gut

Question 3

two unconscious responses

Answer 3

• physiological responses of the autonomic nervous system
• the spinal reflex

Question 4

Physiological responses of the autonomic nervous system

Answer 4

• the autonomic nervous system controls visceral muscles, organs, and glands that are predominantly self-regulating and do not require conscious control
• in this way, the autonomic nervous system is involved in the unconscious physiological responses of these visceral muscles, organs, and glands
• the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant when a person is confronted with a threat or stressor, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system is dominant during rest and physical inactivity

Question 5

define spinal reflex

Answer 5

an unconscious response to sensory stimuli that is initiated by interneurons in the spinal cord independently of the brain

Question 6

define conscious response

Answer 6

a deliberate and voluntary action that is initiated by the brain and performed intentionally by the body

Question 7

Examples of conscious responses are:

Answer 7

• putting a jumper on if you feel cold
• scratching an itch
• throwing a ball
• recalling what you ate for breakfast
• calculating a maths problem
• writing an essay

Question 8

steps of a conscious response

Answer 8

1. The sensory stimulus comes into contact with sensory receptors, which are nerve endings that detect internal sensations in the body and external sensations from the environment.
2. This sensory neural message is transmitted via afferent pathways in the somatic nervous system, and then the spinal cord, to the brain
3. The brain processes this sensory information, coordinating and initiating a conscious motor response
4. This motor neural message is transmitted via efferent pathways in the spinal cord, and then the somatic nervous system, to skeletal muscles
5. The skeletal muscles carry out the conscious motor response to the sensory stimulus