homeostasis and response Flashcards
what is homeostasis
the maintenance of keeping a stable eternal environment
what is an automatic control system
recognises when there is a change from optimal conditions and sends a signal to reverse the change
what different components are there in automatic control systems and what do they do
receptors - detect change such as a rise in temp
coordination centre - brain or spinal cord - interoperate change and decide what needs to be done
effectors - things that carry out the change - muscles (contract) or glands (release hormones)
how do the different components in the automatic control system send signals between them
- the nervous system
- endocrine system
what is the difference between the nervous system and the endocrine system
nervous - very fast and precise, electrical impulses, through nerves, responding quickly
endocrine - hormones through the bloodstream, throughout the entire body, slower and longer lasting
what is negative feedback
when the level of something gets to high, negative feedback will increase it again. a continuous cycle
what is an example of negative feedback - use a scenario
if you walk into a cold room, the low temp will be detected by receptors in our skin, and nervous system will send impulses to control centres like our brain which then sends a signal to effects such as muscle to shiver therefore increasing our body temp
what happens if negative feedback goes too far and contradicts its original job - such as shivering too much that it raises our body temp too much
another set of receptors would send a new signal and the process continues to repeat over and over
what is the function of a neuron
carry electrical impulses from one point to another
what are some characteristics of neurons
long, thing, branched connections which enable messages to be passed on from other nerve cells.
how do nerve cells communicate with each other
- electrical impulses arrive at the end of a nerve
- impulse triggers release of neurotransmitter
- the neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic cleft (the gap between two synapses)
- the neurotransmitter diffuses across the cleft
- it attaches to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron which then triggers the electrical impulse in the second nerve
what is the central nervous system made up of
brain and spinal cord
what does the central nervous system do
receives sensory information and sends orders to the rest o of the body to respond to those orders
what do sensory neurons do and what is an example of what they pick up on
send information from receptors to the central nervous system - changes in temperature or the amount of co2 in blood
what do motor neurons do
once the central nervous system has decided what to do to solve the promblem it sends the informaton through impulses back out to the body’s effectors using motor neurons
what is an effector
the cell, tissue or organ that responds to the signals from the control system
what is a receptor
the detector of the changing environment
what is a reflex arc
the nerve pathway which follows a reflex action
what are the benefits of a reflex arc
they are rapid and automatic and therefore we respond quickly and avoid getting hurt
how do reflex arcs work
- the heat from an object ( the stimuli) would be detected by receptors which will stimulate a sensory neuron carrying an impulse from your finger to your spinal cord
- in the spinal cord it the impulse will transfer the impulse to a relay neuron which passes the impulse to a motor neuron
- this will then travel back to the body to a receptor such as bicep which will contract
what is the endocrine system
consists of a series of glands that secrete hormones into the blood and spread through the body
what are hormones
small chemical molecules
what do some tissues have that allow hormones to attach to them
some have receptors that are specific to the hormones that allow hormone molecules to trigger certain changes in the cell
what are the main three glands in the
system
pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal gland