Structure and Function of the Human Nervous System Flashcards
(23 cards)
What makes up the Human Nervous System?
Peripheral Nervous System & CNS
What makes up the Peripheral Nervous System?
Somatic Nervous System & Autonomic Nervous System
What makes up the Autonomic Nervous System?
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System
What makes up the CNS?
Brain & Spinal Cord
State the role of the CNS
Processes information
“Control centre”
- generates a response to the information
What does the Peripheral NS consist of?
12 pairs of cranial nerves
31 pairs of spinal nerves
State the role of the Peripheral NS
makes the body do what the brain tells it to
State the role of the Somatic NS
to carry sensory information from the outside world to the brain and provide muscle responses via motor pathways that allow us to respond to the environment
- blinking, flinching
State the role of the Autonomic NS
transmits info to and from internal organs to SUSTAIN LIFE
- maintains homeostasis
State the role of the Sympathetic NS
increases bodily function
State the role of the Parasympathetic NS
maintains normal bodily functions and reduces activities of the body that have been increased by the SNS
State the role of the Corpus Callosum
allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other
- integrate and transfer information from the brain to process sensory/motor/cognitive signals
State the role of the Cerebellum
controls motor skills and balance
State the role of the Brain Stem
regulates essential functions for life
State the role of the Frontal Lobe
memory and attention
- controlling behaviour, emotions and impulses
- decision making
State the role of the Parietal Lobe
integrates sensory information
- prevents us from bumping into things as we walk
State the role of the Occipital Lobe
receives and processes visual information
- contains areas that help perceiving shapes and colour
State the role of the Temporal Lobe
recognizing and processing sound
- various aspects of memory
State the role of the Diencephalon
contains the thalamus and hypothalamus
What is the Excitatory Response?
MORE likely next neuron will fire
- neurotransmitter binds to receptors on the post-synaptic neuron
- membrane becomes + charged
- action potential created
What is the Inhibitory Response?
LESS likely next neuron will fire
- neurotransmitter binds to receptors on the post-synaptic neuron
- membrane becomes - charged
- action potential is NOT created
Explain what happens during Synaptic Transmissions
Pre-synaptic neuron
- Electrical impulse travels down the axon and arrives at the synaptic terminal
- Vesicles release neurotransmitters, electrical impulses bind, becomes chemical and diffuses across the synaptic gap
- Neurotransmitters bind with receptors on post-synaptic neuron
- If the overall charge of the impulse (summation) is positive, then the post-synaptic neuron will fire (excitatory) and the impulse continues
- If the summation is negative, then the post-synaptic neuron will NOT fire (inhibitory)
What happens to the neurotransmitters after synaptic transmissions?
- Broken down by enzymes in the synapse
- Reabsorbed (reuptake) by the pre-synaptic neuron ready for the next impulse
- Diffused away
