Functional Neuroanatomy Flashcards
the nervous system can be thought of as a
biological information processing system
four stages
- sensory input (afferent) - where does it come from
- processing
- output (efferent)
- effector organs - what does it control
Two places where information input can come from
- external world (special senses; vision, hearing, taste, smell, balance)
- the body (somatic, visceral sensation, instrically active neurons)
information output: somatic motor actions
skeletal muscles
- voluntary movements (willed, intentional movements)
- unconscious movements (reflexes)
information output: homeostatic responses
neural control of the body
- endocrine - hypothalamic/pituitary control
- ANS - smooth muscle an cardiac and glands
two main subtypes of the nervous system
- sensorimotor system
2. homeostatic system
sensorimotor system
perceiving the external world (input) and moving the body (via skeletal muscles) through the external world (output) the parts of the nervous system that makes up the sensorimotor system are adapted to deal with change
homeostatic systme
perceiving the internal environment of the body (input) and regulating the viscera via the endocrine and ANS. The parts of the nervous system that make up the homeostatic system are adapted to keeping the environment of the body constant
Information Processing - unconscious processing
reflexes
drives and instincts
sensory representations
Information Processing - emotions
form of information integration
Information Processing - thought/cognition
mental phenomena of higher form of integration and can either be conscious or unconscious
Information Processing - learning/memory
memory formation (learning)
memory storage
memory access (recall)
mental manipulation of memory (thought/imagination)
two types of nervous tissue
- gray matter
2. white matter
gray matter - sites of
neuronal cell bodies and dendrites
gray matter - take the form of
clusters/sheets/layers
