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chapter 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

what comprises the nervous system?

A
  • the central nervous system
  • the peripheral nervous system
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2
Q

what comprises the central nervous system?

A
  • the brain
  • spinal cord
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3
Q

what is the role of the nervous system?

A

to process information from the internal and external environment and to formulate responses to this information.

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3
Q

what does the brain do?

A
  • coordinate mental proccesses and behaviours as well as to regulate bodily activity
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3
Q

why is the brain labelled as the ‘control centre’?

A

because it controls physiological and psychological processes

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4
Q

what is the spinal cord?

A

the route in which neural information and messages travels between the brain and body

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5
Q

what is the role of afferent tracts within the spinal cord?

A

to transmit messages from the peripheral nervous system to the body`

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6
Q

what is the role of efferent tracts within the spinal cord

A

to transmitt motor messages from the brain to the peripheral nervous system

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6
Q

what is the role of the somatic nervous system?

A

to transmit nerual messages related to voluntary motor movement

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6
Q

what comprises the peripheral nervous system?

A
  • somatic nervous sytem
  • autonomic nervous system
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6
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system and what does it do?

A

the peripheral nervous system comprises every nureon outside of the CNS. It transmits nerual messages between the central nervous system and the body

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7
Q

what are the pathways inside of the somatic nervous system?

A
  • sensory nueral pathways which are made of sensory nuerons
  • motor neural pathways which are made of motor neurons
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8
Q

what occours within sensory neural pathways?

A

messages travel from sensory receptors which detect sensations to the CNS via afferent neural pathways

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9
Q

what occours within motor neural pathways?

A

messages travel from the CNS to the skeletal muscles which carry out voluntary motor movements via efferent nueral pathways

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9
Q

what is the autonomic nervous system involved in?

A

it is involved in the unconcious responses that regulate and control visceral muscles, organs and glands to transmit nerual messages to the CNS about their activity

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10
Q

what does the sympathetic NS do?

A

it activates visceral muscles, organs and glands to prepare the body to respond to threats or stressor. (fight, flight or freeze response)

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11
Q

what are the 2 types of nervous systems in the autonomic division?

A
  • sympathetic
  • parasympathetic
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12
Q

what does the parasympathetic NS do?

A

it maintains optimal and functioning balnce of visceral muscles, organs and glands after experiencing heightened bodily arousal due to sympathetic responses, as well as maintaining homeostasis.

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13
Q

what is a nueron

A

a nerve cell that receives and transmits nerual information.

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14
Q

what are neurons?

A

the basic structural and functional unit of the nervous sytem

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15
Q

what are the 3 types of nuerons?

A
  • motor nerons (efferent neurons)
  • sensory neurons ( afferent neurons)
  • internerons
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16
Q

what do motor neurons do

A

they transmit nueral messages about motor movement from the CNS to the peripheral nervous system

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17
Q

what do sensory neurons do

A

they transmit neural messages about bodily sensation to the CNS

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18
Q

what do inter neurons do

A

they tranfer neural information between sensory and motor neurons

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19
what are conscious responses?
they are deilberate and voluntary actions tha are iniated by the brain and performed by the body
20
what is the first step in conscious responses?
the sensory stimulus comes into contact with sensory receptors
21
what is the fourth step in conscious responses?
the motor neural message is transmitted via efferent pathways in the spinal cord, then the somatic NS to the skeletal muscles
21
what is the second step in conscious responses?
the sensory neural message travels via afferent pathways in the somatic nervous system to the spinal cord and then to the brain
22
what is the third step in conscious responses?
the brain processes the sensory information, coordinating and initiating a conscious motor response
23
what is the fifth step in conscious responses?
the skeletal muscles carry out the conscious motor response
24
what are unconscious responses
they are automatic and involunatary actions that are performed without conscious awareness in response to stimuli
25
what are the two different types of unconscious responses?
- physiological responses of the autonomic NS - spinal reflex
26
what are the two types of psychological responses?
- sympathetic responses - parasympathetic responses
27
what are some sympathetic resposnes?
- heart rate increases - breathing rate ncreases - pupils dilate - sweat glands activate - adrenal glands secrete stess hormones
27
what are some parasympathetic resposnes?
- heart beats at steady rate - lung airways constrict - pupils constrict - digestion occours normally
28
what is the spinal reflex?
an unconcious motor response to sensory stimuli that is initiated by internerouns in the spinal cord, independent of the brain
29
what is the first step in the spinal relfex?
a harmful or dangerous stimuli is detected by sensory receptos, which transmit this sensory information via afferent pathways to the spinal cord
30
what is the second step in the spinal relfex?
an interneroun in the spinal cord immediantly relays this sensory neural signal from a sensory neuron to a motor neuron as a motor neural signal initiaing an automatic and uncionus motor response
31
what is the third step in the spinal relfex?
the motor message is transmitted via motor neurons to the skeletal muscles that carry out this unconcious motor response
32
what is the fourth step in the spinal relfex?
the sensory message continues via afferent tracks in the spinal cord to the brain. then the brain independlty registers the sensation that triggered the spinal relfex.
33
what is the reflex arc?
the path along which the nerual signal is transmited as part of the spinal reflex
34
what is the neural synapse
the region that includes the axon terminals of the presynpatic neuron, the synaptic gap and the dendrties of the postsynaptic neuron
34
what are axon terminals
the ends of a nueron that release the nuerochemicals into the nueral synpase
34
what is the role of the presynaptic neuron
it is the nueron that releases nuerochemicals into the nueral synapse
35
what is the synaptic gap
the space between the presynaptic nueron and the postsynaptic nueron
36
what is the role of the postsynaptic nueron
it receives nuerochemicals from the neural synapse
37
what are dendrites
are branched extensions of a nueron on which receptor sites are located
38
what are receptor sites
they are protetin molecules on the dendrites of a neuron that receive neurochemicals
39
what are neurochemcials
they are chemical substances that transmit neural information within the nervous system
40
what is synaptic transmission
its the chemical converyance of neural information between two neurons across a neural synpase
41
what is the first process of synpatic transmission
1. neurochemicals are produced in the axon terminals of the presyanptic neuron
42
what is the second process of synpatic transmission
2. neurochemcials are released from the axon terminals of the presyanptic neuron into the synpatic gap
43
what is the third process of synpatic transmission
neurochemicals bind to receptor sites on the dendrties of the post synaptic neuron
44
what is the fourth process of synpatic transmission
neurochemicals affect the postsynaptic neuron either triggering or in inhibitoring a response
45
what is the structure of neurochemicals
each neurochemical has a disticint molecular structure that corresponds to a specific recpetor site.
46
can any neurochemical and receptor site bind
no they can only bind if they have matching structures
47
what are neurotransmitters
they are chemical molecules that have an effect on one or two postsynaptic neurons.
48
what are the two types of neurotransmitters
excitatory inhibitory
49
what is the definintion of action potential
an electrical impluse that travels down the axon of a neuron
50
what is the excitatory effect
its when the neurotransmitter increases the likelehood of the postysynaptic neuron firing an action potential
51
when does the effect occour
when an excitatory neurotranmitter binds to receptor sites on the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron
52
what is glutamate
the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the NS
53
what is glutamte role/function and why
leanring and memeory as the excitatory effects of glutamte form and strengthen synpatic connections between neurons that are repeadtly activated during learning
54
what is the inhibitory effect
is when the neurotranmitter decreases the likleheood of the postsynaptic neuron firing an action potential
55
how do inhibitory effects occur
by regulating the activation of postsynaptic neurons
56
what is GABA
the main inhibtory neurotrasmitter in the NS
57
what is the full word of GABA
gamma aminobutryic acid
58
what is GABAS role
in regulating postysnpatic activation in neural pathways, preventing the overexcitation of neurons
59
how does GABA assist in preventiing axiety
it reduces anxeity by inhibting excitaory neural singals that contribute to anxeity.
60
how does GABA assist in preventing seizures
by inhibting the uncrontrollable firing of action potentials.
61
what is synaptic plascity
it is the ability of synaptic connections to change over time in response to activity or experince.
62
what are the three mechanisms of synaptic plasctitiy
1. sprouting 2. rerouting 3. pruning
63
what is sprouting
sprouting is the ability of dendrties or axons to develop new extensions or branches furhtering the reach of a neuron and enables the formation of new synaptic connections
64
what is rerouting
rerouting is the abitilty of a neuron connected to a damaged neuron to create an alternative synaptic connection with an undamaged nueron. this restores brain functioning
65
what is pruning
pruning is the elimination of synaptic connections that are not adequately activated.
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psychology (3 decks)

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