nervous/endocrine system, neurons, synaptic transmissions, localisation

Question 1

what is the nervous system?

Answer 1

a specialised network of cells in the human body and is our primary internal communication system

Question 2

how many main functions does the nervous system have and what are they?

Answer 2

2
to collect, process and respond to information in the environment
to co-ordinate the working of different of different organs and cells in the body

Question 3

what are the 2 subsystems in the nervous system?

Answer 3

central nervous system

peripheral nervous system

Question 4

what is the central nervous system made up of?

Answer 4

the brain and the spinal cord

Question 5

what does the brain do in terms of the central nervous system?
key parts of the brain

Answer 5

it is the centre of all concious awareness
the brains outer layer is the cerebral cortex. it is highly developed in humans and distinguishes our higher mental functions from animals
it is divided into 2 hemispheres

Question 6

what is the spinal cord in terms of the central nervous system?
what is it responsible for?

Answer 6

it is an extension of the brain
it is responsible for reflex actions
it passes messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the PNS

Question 7

what does the peripheral nervous system (PNS) do?

Answer 7

it transmits messages via millions of neurons (nerve cells) to and from the central nervous system

Question 8

what does the PNS sub-divide into?

Answer 8

the autonomic nervous system (ANS)

the somatic nervous system (SNS)

Question 9

what does the autonomic nervous system do?

Answer 9

governs vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion, sexual arousal and stress responses

Question 10

what does the somatic nervous system do?

Answer 10

controls muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors

Question 11

what is the endocrine system?

Answer 11

one of the body’s major information systems that instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream. these hormones are carried towards target organs in the body

Question 12

what system does the endocrine system work alongside and to do what?

Answer 12

the central nervous system

to control vital functions in the body

Question 13

does the endocrine system work faster or slower than the nervous system?

Answer 13

considerably slower

Question 14

does the endocrine system have widespread and powerful effects?

Answer 14

yes

Question 15

what are the main endocrine glands in the human body?

Answer 15

hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, pancreas and ovaries/testes

Question 16

what is the major endocrine gland and why?

Answer 16

the pituitary gland in the brain

it controls the release of hormones from all the other endocrine glands in the body

Question 17

what is the fight or flight response?

Answer 17

the way an animal responds when stressed. the body becomes physiologically aroused in readiness to fight an aggressor or, in some cases, flee

Question 18

what system does the autonomous nervous system work in parallel with in terms of fight or flight?

Answer 18

the endocrine system

Question 19

how do the endocrine and the ANS work in parallel during a stressful event?

Answer 19

when a stressor is percieved, the hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system. the ANS changes from its normal resting state (the parasympathetic state) to the physiologically aroused, sympathetic state. the stress hormone adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream. adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body, which creates the physiological arousal necessary for the fight or flight response

Question 20

how fast does the physiological arousal necessary for the fight or flight response happen?

Answer 20

in an instant as soon as a threat is detected

Question 21

the fight or flight response is an acute response, and what type of reaction?

Answer 21

an automatic reaction

Question 22

what happens in our body once the perceived threat has passed?

Answer 22

the parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to its resting state

Question 23

the parasympathetic’s actions are what to the sympathetic system?

Answer 23

antagonistic

Question 24

what is the ‘rest and digest’ response?

Answer 24

the parasympathetic system acts as a ‘brake’ and reduces the activities of the body that were increased by the actions of the sympathetic branch

Question 25

what is a gland?

Answer 25

an organ in the body that produces substances such as hormones

Question 26

what are neurons?

Answer 26

nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals

Question 27

how many neurons are there in the human nervous system?

Answer 27

100 billion

Question 28

how many of these neurons (percentage) are located in the brain?

Answer 28

80%

Question 29

what are the 3 types of neurons?

Answer 29

motor neurons sensory neurons relay neurons

Question 30

what are the branch like structures that protrude from the call body of a neuron called?

Answer 30

dendrites

Question 31

what do dendrites do?

Answer 31

carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body

Question 32

what does the axon do?

Answer 32

carries the impulses away from the cell body down the length of the neuron

Question 33

what is the fatty layer that covers the axon called and what does it do?

Answer 33

myelin sheath | it protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmissions

Question 34

if the myelin sheath was continuous, what would happen? | what are the gaps that segment the myelin sheath?

Answer 34

it would have the reverse effect and slow down the electrical impulse nodes of Ranvier

Question 35

what do the nodes of Ranvier do?

Answer 35

they speed up the transmission of the impulse by forcing it to 'jump' across the gaps along the axon

Question 36

what is at the end of the axon?

Answer 36

terminal buttons

Question 37

what do terminal buttons do?

Answer 37

communicate with the next neuron in the chain across a gap known as the synapse

Question 38

when a neuron is in resting state is the inside of the cell negatively or positively charged?

Answer 38

negatively charged

Question 39

when a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for how long?

Answer 39

a split second

Question 40

when a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a split second, causing what to occur?

Answer 40

an action potential

Question 41

what does the action potential create?

Answer 41

an electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron

Question 42

what are the groups that neurons communicate in with each other called?

Answer 42

neural networks

Question 43

what is the tiny gap that separates one neuron from the next called?

Answer 43

the synapse

Question 44

signals within neurons are transmitted how?

Answer 44

electrically

Question 45

signals between neurons are transmitted how?

Answer 45

chemically

Question 46

what is the end of the neuron called?

Answer 46

the presynaptic terminal

Question 47

when the electrical impulse reaches the end of the presynaptic terminal, it triggers the release of what? where does it release from?

Answer 47

neurotransmitter | tiny sacs called synaptic vesicles

Question 48

what are neurotransmitters?

Answer 48

chemicals that diffuse across the synapse to the next neuron in the chain

Question 49

once the neurotransmitter crosses the synapse (gap), what is it taken up by?

Answer 49

postsynaptic receptor site- or the dendrites of the next neuron

Question 50

what is the 'lock and key' analogy?

Answer 50

each neurotransmitter has its own specific molecular structure that fits perfectly into its a post-synaptic receptor site- like a lock and key

Question 51

do neurotransmitters have specialist functions?

Answer 51

yes

Question 52

what are the 2 types of effect that neurotransmitters can have on the neighbouring neuron?

Answer 52

excitatory | inhibitory

Question 53

what is excitation?

Answer 53

when a neurotransmitter increases the positive charge of the postsynaptic neuron. this increases the likeliness that the neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse

Question 54

example of a neurotransmitter that causes excitation

Answer 54

adrenaline

Question 55

what is inhibition?

Answer 55

when a neurotransmitter increases the negative charge of the postsynaptic neuron. this decreases the likeliness that the neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse

Question 56

example of a neurotransmitter that causes inhibition

Answer 56

serotonin

Question 57

what is summation?

Answer 57

the process that determines whether or not an action potential will be triggered, based on the combined effects of the excitatory and inhibitory signals of the neurotransmitters

Question 58

definition of localisation of function

Answer 58

the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviors, processes or activities

Question 59

what are the 4 key areas of the brain according to localisation of function

Answer 59

frontal lobe parietal lobe temporal lobe occipital lobe

Question 60

what does the motor area do and where is it located?

Answer 60

its involved in regulating movement | its a region in the frontal lobe

Question 61

what does the somatosensory area do and where is it located?

Answer 61

it processes sensory information such as touch | its an area in the parietal lobe

Question 62

what does the visual area do and where is it located?

Answer 62

it receives and processes visual information | its a part of the occipital lobe

Question 63

what does the auditory area do and where is it located?

Answer 63

it analyses speech-based information | located in the temporal lobe

Question 64

what does Broca's area do and where is it located?

Answer 64

its responsible for speech production | an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere

Question 65

what does Wernicke's area do and where is it located?

Answer 65

its responsible for language comprehension | an area of the temporal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere

Question 66

what theory of the brain did scientists believe before investigations?

Answer 66

the holistic theory- all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of thoughts and actions

Question 67

what is the localisation of function sometimes referred to?

Answer 67

cortical specialisation

Question 68

if a certain area of the brain becomes damaged through illness or injury, what happens?

Answer 68

the function associated with that area will be effected

Question 69

is activity on the left hand side of the body controlled by the left or the right hemisphere?

Answer 69

right hemisphere

Question 70

is activity on the right hand side of the body controlled by the left or right hemisphere?

Answer 70

left hemisphere

Question 71

what is the outer layer of both hemispheres called?

Answer 71

cerebral cortex

Question 72

why does the cerebral cortex appear grey and what phrase is used to describe it?

Answer 72

due to the location of cell bodies | 'grey matter'

Question 73

what does damage to Broca's area cause?

Answer 73

Broca's aphasia- speech that is slow, laborious and lacking fluency

Question 74

what does damage to Wernicke's area cause?

Answer 74

Wernicke's aphasia- producing nonsense words (neologisms)

Question 75

is there evidence for localisation?

Answer 75

yes

Question 76

who found evidence for localisation and what methods did they use (2)?

Answer 76

Peterson et al. used brain scans to show how different areas lit up when doing different tasks Tulving et al. study of long term memory- semantic and episodic memory lie in different areas of the brain

Question 77

what is neurosurgery and does it provide evidence for localisation?

Answer 77

the practice of surgically removing or destroying areas of the brain to control aspects of behavior

Question 78

what is a lobotomy?

Answer 78

when you severe connections in the frontal lobe in an attempt to control aggressive behavior

Question 79

what part of his brain did Phineas Gage damage and what were the consequences on his personality?

Answer 79

left frontal lobe | he went from being calm and reserved to quick tempered, rude, and 'no longer Gage'

Question 80

did Lashley's research into rats support the localised or holistic theory?

Answer 80

holistic

Question 81

what did Lashley do in his research on rats?

Answer 81

he removed areas of the cortex in rats (between 10-50%) that were learning a maze and found that no area was more important than others in terms of the rats ability to learn the maze