nervous system

Question 1

what is sensation

Answer 1

The information you receive from your senses.

Question 2

cns

Answer 2

Central Nervous System (CNS)
Brain and spinal cord

Question 3

pns

Answer 3

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
All nerves outside of the spinal cord.
The spinal cord connects the brain and PNS

Question 4

the brain
4 points

Answer 4

• Responsible for all we think, feel and do
• There are two almost symmetrical halves or hemispheres of the brain.
• Brain is contralaterally organised. Left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and visa versa.

Allows for:
Higher mental (cognitive) processes - sensing and perceiving
Processing information - allows language, memory, problem solving etc.

Question 5

primary somatosensory cortex

Answer 5

Receives and processes sensory information from skin and body.
Touch, pressure, pain and temperature from sensory receptors in the skin travel to the somatosensory cortex.

Question 6

primary motor cortex

Answer 6

Controls voluntary bodily movements - controls skeletal muscles.

Question 7

association areas

Answer 7

Process and integrate the incoming sensory information.

Question 8

frontal lobe
3 points

Answer 8

Involved in:
Thinking and problem solving
Adapting and making decisions
Control of emotions and expression of emotions

Question 9

spinal cord
2 main functions

Answer 9

Cable-like column of nerves that sends sensory afferent messaged to the brain and sends motor efferent messages away from the brain

Question 10

what does the pns do

Answer 10

peripheral nervous system

Links our brain to the rest of our body so messages can be carried to and from the brain via the spinal cord.
Communicated information to CNS from muscles, organs and glands (internal environment) and from sensory organs (external environment) to the CNS.

Question 11

interneurons

Answer 11

transmit information between sesnory and motor neurons
makes up the spinal cord and brain

Question 12

somatic neuron system

Answer 12

Responsible for all voluntary skeletal muscle movements.

Question 13

autonomic nervous system

Answer 13

Involuntary movements (breathing, heart rate etc.) are built in self-regulating mechanisms and function continuously unconsciously.
The ANS connects CNS to internal muscles and organs.
Controls automatic or involuntary functions.

Question 14

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 14

Increases activity and prepares us for the activity.
Targets stimulated through release of the hormone adrenaline by adrenal glands which are just above the kidneys and is an extremely rapid response. They get stimulated to release adrenaline.
Increased heart rate and increased breathing rate takes in more O2 for muscles.

Question 14

parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 14

Opposite of sympathetic nervous system. It is more dominant.
Responsible for homeostasis (balanced internal environment.)
Both SNS and PNS are active at the same time and there is a balance between the two when in a normal state.

Question 14

enteric nervous system

Answer 14

Embedded in the walls of the gastrointestinal tract and dedicated to its functioning (gut health).
Neural circuits connect ENS with other parts of the nervous system and organs of the digestive system
The main role of ENS is to control digestion, detect physiological conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, provide outputs to control gut movement, manage nutrients and regulate gastric secretions.

Question 15

how neurons function

Answer 15

Receive process and transmit information within the nervous system
Organised in networks called neural pathways/circuits.
Carry information in the form of an electrical impulse or “action potential”.

Question 16

dendrites

Answer 16

recieve Information from other neurons
Dendritic spines - receptor sites
Multiple kinds
Connect and receive information from other neurons
Can receive information from thousands of neurons

Question 17

axon

Answer 17

Action potential travels along the axon to other burns or cells/muscles/glands.

Question 18

myelin sheath

Answer 18

Speeds up neural transmission.
Avoids chemical and physical interference (protector)

Question 19

axon terminals

Answer 19

Deliver the information to the next neuron via action potential/electrical impulse.
Each axon terminal has a terminal button which stores and secrete neurotransmitters.
When the message/action potential reaches amazon termina neurotransmitters are released from terminal buttons.

Question 20

synapse

Answer 20

the site where the communication occurs between neurons, muscles, glands.
Junction between 2 nerves at the end of axon
When information teaches terminals, the terminal button is released.

Question 21

neurotransmitters
5 stages of neurotransmission

Answer 21

Neurotransmitters are the chemical substance released by the ternimal button of a neuron.

1. Information comes from dendrite of pre synaptic neuron
2. information runs through axon as a action potential
3. action potantial reaches terminal button whcih contains neurotransmitters
4. information is released into the synapse
5. information is recieved by the recptor of the post synaptic neuron

Question 22

conscious responses

Answer 22

Conscious Responses
You will pay attention to the stimuli.
Response is voluntary and there is control over the response.

Question 23

unconscious response

Answer 23

We don't have awareness and our response is involuntary, unintentional, automatic Does not involve brain Responses by ANS (autonomic nervous system) They are innate (no need to learn)

Question 24

the spinal reflex

Answer 24

an unconscious response to sensory stimuli that is initiated by interneurons in the spinal cord

Question 25

glutamate 4 points

Answer 25

Main excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS. It enhances information transmission by making postsynaptic neurons more likely to fire. (good for learning and memory) Too much or too little can be harmful to brain neurons. Glutamate can lead to over excitation.

Question 26

GABA 4

Answer 26

Main inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the CNS. Makes postsynaptic neurons less likely to fire. It fine tunes neurotransmission in the brian. If we didn't have GABA, postsynaptic neurons might get out of control which could have detrimental effects on cognitive function. Not enough GABA may cause seizures/epilepsy, anxiety issues and phobias.

Question 27

neuromodulators 2 types

Answer 27

neuromodulators are chemical messengers that enhance signal transmission an enhance the inhibitory and excitatory effects. - dopamine - serotonin

Question 28

dopamine 3 points

Answer 28

Dopamine is primarily excitatory but can have inhibitory effects is is involved in drive, motivation and motor movement. Behaviours perceived as rewarding due to the release of dopamine include both healthy behaviours and harmful behaviours that become addictive.

Question 29

serotonin 3 points

Answer 29

- An inhibitory neuromodulator. - Plays a role in mood, emotional processing, sleep onset, appetite and pain perception. - Low levels of serotonin are linked with mood disorders and anxiety.

Question 30

learning + memory

Answer 30

Learning: acquiring skills or knowledge through experience. Conscious or unconscious Memory: the expression of what you acquired.

Question 31

neural plasticity

Answer 31

ability of the brain to chage in resppnse to experience.

Question 32

changes to connections between neurons

Answer 32

Changes to connections between neurons. Changes occur at the synapse (synaptic plasticity) Brain modifies neural connections. Changes are constantly occurring at the brain's trillions of synapses Some are strengthened, new ones are created and others are lost.

Question 33

sprouting, rerouting and pruning

Answer 33

Sprouting Growth of axon sprouts and dendrite fibres at the synapse. Changes the physical structure of the neuron to form more connections (synaptogenesis) Learning = new neural connections Practise = strengthening neural connections. Rerouting Occurs when new connections are made between neurons to create alternate neural pathways. Pruning The elimination of weak, ineffective or unused synapses. Experience determines which synapses will be retained and which will be pruned.

Question 34

long term potentiation

Answer 34

Long lasting strengthening of synaptic connections through experience. This allows for better transmission between pre and postsynaptic neurons. Achieved through sprouting and rerouting.

Question 35

long term depression

Answer 35

Long Lasting decrease in strength of synaptic transmission. Synaptic connections are weakened or pruned. It allows for modification of neural pathways to strengthen/learn techniques. This occurs because of a lack of stimulation of pre and postsynaptic neurons

Question 36

excitatory inhibitory

Answer 36

increase likelihood that neuron will fire an action potential decrease liklihood

Question 37

inhibitory

Question 38

synaptic plasticity

Answer 38

the ability of synaptic connections to change over time in response to experience

Question 39

body's response to parasympathetic domination compared to sympathetic domination

Answer 39

- pupils para = contract sym= dilated - heart rate para = decreases sym = increases - digestion para = stimulated sym = inhibited

Question 40

afferent neurons (sensory)

Answer 40

transmits sensory info from body to the brain via afferent pathways

Question 41

efferent neurons (motor)

Answer 41

transmits info from brain to body via efferent pathways