Biopsychology Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is the central nervous system?
spinal cord & brain
Brain and spinal cord
Controls behaviour
Regulation of physiological processes
Spinal cord
- voluntary movement
- reflex actions
- areas below a damaged section will but cut off from brain
Brain
- cerebrum, 4 lobes, thought/speech/images
- cerebellum, motor skills/balance
- diencephalon, relays nerve impulses, regulate body temp/hunger/thirst
- brain stem, automatic functions, breathing/heartbeat/swallowing
What is the peripheral nervous system
All nerves outside CNS
relay signals from CNS to rest of body
What is the somatic nervous system
Sensory neurons
- messages to CNS
Motor neurons
- messages from CNS to rest of body
What is the autonomic nervous system
Involuntary actions
Without conscious awareness
What is the sympathetic nervous system
Responses that help us deal with emergencies
Neurons prepare the body when it’s under threat
What is the parasympathetic nervous system
Relaxes the body once the emergency has passed
Involved with energy conservation and digestion
‘Rest and digest’ system
What are sensory neurons
Impulses from sensory receptors to spinal cord/brain
Translated into sensations in brain
Some terminate in spinal cord to allow reflex actions
What are relay neurons
Allow sensory and motor to communicate with eachother
What are motor neurons
Located in the CNS
control muscles
Releases neurotransmitters and trigger a response
Inhibition of motor neurons causes muscle relaxation
Stages of synaptic transmission
Action potential arrives
Need to be transferred across the synapse (synaptic gap)
Action potential reaches synaptic vesicles, which allows them to release neurotransmitters
The neurotransmitter diffuses across the gap and binds to receptors
The chemical message is converted back to electrical impulses
Excitatory neurotransmitters
On switch
Noradrenaline
Fires up the cell
Excitatory postsynaptic potential
Inhibitory neurotransmitter
Off switch Serotonin Decreased chance of neuron firing Calms body/mind Inhibitory postsynaptic potential
What is an axon
Long projection
Neurotransmitters travel to the end before being released
What are synaptic vesicles
Contain the neurotransmitters to be released
What is the synaptic gap
Space that the neurotransmitters travel between
What are dendrites
Nerve impulses from neurons to cell body
What is a receptor
Receive neurons
What is a neurotransmitter
Relay signals that move from one neuron to the other
What is the endocrine system?
Network of glands
Manufactures and secretes hormones
Controls the bodies functions
Endocrine glands
- pituitary glands
Controls the release of hormones from all other glands
‘Master gland’
Regulates the release by nypothalum
Controlled by hypothalamus
Endocrine glands
- ovaries
Facilitates the release of female hormones
Oestrogen and progesterone
Endocrine glands
- testes
Facilitates the release of male hormones
Testosterone
Sex drive, muscle strength
Endocrine glands
- adrenal glands
Release adrenaline into the blood stream
Above the kidneys
Cortex - produce cortisol
Medulla - produces nor/adrenaline
What are hormones
Each hormone affects behaviours differently
Circulate in the bloodstream
Only effects a limited number of cells
Particular receptors for particular hormones
Timing/levels release are critical
