Synapses and Reflexes

Question 1

What is the connection between two neurones called?

Answer 1

A synapse

Question 2

What is a reflex action?

Answer 2

Rapid automatic responses to certain stimuli that don’t involve the conscious part of the brain

Question 3

Why are reflex actions important

Answer 3

They aid survival by preventing harm to the body

Question 4

Describe how a reflex action occurs via a reflex arc?

Answer 4

• The stimulus is detected by a receptor
• An electrical impulse passes along a sensory neurone to the spinal cord (part of the CNS))

Question 5

Describe how a reflex action occurs via a reflex arc?
| Part 2 at a synapse

Answer 5

At a synapse between between a sensory neurone and a relay neurone, a chemical diffuses across the gap and stimulates a new impulse which passes along the relay neurone

Question 6

Describe how a reflex action occurs via a reflex arc?
|part 3

Answer 6

• The same process occurs at a synapse between a relay neurone and a motor neurone
• At the effector, an appropriate response is carried out

Question 7

What is the difference between a reflex pathway and a conscious pathway?

Answer 7

Reflex pathway:
The coordination centre is a relay neurone found in the spinal cord or the unconscious parts of the brain

Conscious Pathway:
The coordination centre is the conscious part of the brain

Question 8

What happens at the motor neurone

travel along

Answer 8

impulses then travel along the motor neurone to the effector which causes a muscle to contract

Question 9

Why is a reflexes faster than normal?

Answer 9

You don’t have to think about it