Nervous System Flashcards
(37 cards)
Stimuli:-
Internal/external changes in the environment (s/ stimulus).
Sensitivity:-
The ability to respond appropriately to stimuli.
Sense organs:-
Detect stimuli.
Effectors:-
Organs that respond to stimuli.
Cell signalling:-
Used to pass information in the nervous system (and the endocrine system).
Neurones:-
Nerve cells, convey info as nerve impulses (electrochemical cell signals).
Neurone cell body:-
Contains nucleus
Neurone nerve fibres:-
Long extensions that transmit nerve impulses rapidly from one part of the body to another.
Axon:-
Nerve fibre carrying away from cell body.
Dendron:-
Nerve fibre carrying towards cell body. May also be small dendrons (dendrites) extending from the cell body.
Sensory neurones:-
Carry messages from peripheral sense organs to CNS.
Motor neurones:-
Convey instructions from CNS to effector organs (mainly muscles + glands). V. fast.
Myelin sheath:-
Enclosed motor neurones along most of their length. Produced by Schwann cells. Essentially a series of cell membranes wrapped several times around the axon.
Nodes of Ranvier:-
Gaps between parts of myrlin sheath membrane, key to fast nerve impulse transmission.
CNS organisation:-
Consists of a prominent brain enclosed in a skull and a spinal cord (cylinder of tissue running from brain down the back). Brain integrates info from many internal + external sense organs. Stores info in memory centres.
Peripheral nervous system:-
Consists of all nerves + associated nervous tissue outside CNS. Nerve = thread-like structure containing a bundle of neurone fibres. Made up of somatic and autonomic NS.
Forms a vast comms network of sensory + motor pathways.
Ganglia:-
(S/ ganglion)- contained in PNS, contains many cell bods + synapses enclosed in a connective tissue sheath.
Somatic NS:-
Voluntary. Sensory neurones transmit info from peripheral receptors to CNS. Motor carry nerve impulses to skeletal muscles.
Autonomic nervous system:-
Involuntary. 2 divisions- parasympathetic NS and sympathetic NS which generally have opposing actions.
Parasympathetic NS:-
Maintains normal functioning of body on non-theatening conditions- e.g reduces heart rate, constricts pupils + bronchioles but dilutes blood vessels leading to guy. Usually use acetylcholine as neurotransmitter.
Reflex actions faster:-
Faster as they use relay neurones rather than transmitting back to the brain = shorter.
Reflex actions stereotyped:-
A particular stimulus always evokes the same response.
Reflex actions innate:-
Unlearned, genetically determined responses that use inherited nervous pathways.
Reflex arc:-
Simple nervous pw that rapidly transmits info receptor to effector.