The Nervous System

Question 1

What is the role of the nervous system?

Answer 1

• Sensation: gathering internal and external information.
• Integration: understanding and interpreting information.
• Response: stimulating the appropriate action or reaction.

Question 2

Name the main structures of the central nervous system?

Answer 2

• Brain
  
  • Cerebrum
  • Cerebellum
  • Diencelphalon
  • Brain stem
• Spinal cord

Question 3

Name the main structures of the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 3

• Somatic system: controls voluntary (conscious) movement.
• Autonomic system: controls involuntary functions.

Question 4

What is the difference between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron?

Answer 4

Sensory neurons carry signals from the outer parts of your body (periphery) into the central nervous system (relaying info concerning muscle dynamics and limb movements).

Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to the outer parts (muscles, skin, glands) of your body (muscles to contract and glands to secrete).

Question 5

What is a motor unit?

Answer 5

A motor unit is a single motor neuron and all the muscles fibres it innervates (activates).

Question 6

Describe the ‘all or none law’?

Answer 6

The motor unit activates all of the fibres or none at all.

Question 7

How can exercise enhance neuromuscular connections and improve motor fitness?

Answer 7

As neuromuscular connections develop through exercise the individual will gradually be able to recruit more motor units and produce more force.

Question 8

Name the two primary divisions of the nervous system?

Answer 8

• The central nervous system (CNS)
• The peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Question 9

Name the different muscle sense organs that form part of the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 9

• Joint receptors: found in the ligaments and joint capsule. Informs the brain about joint position.
• Muscle spindles: found in the muscle and informs the brain how stretched or lengthened the muscle is and how many motor units to activate.
• Golgi tendon organs: found In the tendons and tells the brain how much force has been generated in the muscle.

Question 10

Specific types of activity can improved motor fitness which include?

Answer 10

• Coordination
• Balance
• Power
• Speed
• Reaction time
• Agility

Question 11

What are the positive effects of exercise has on the nervous system?

Answer 11

• Development of stronger neural links and movement patterns and programmes in the brain.
• Improved sensory feedback from joint and muscle receptors.
• Better movement purity and reduced faulty movements.

Question 12

What are the positive effects CV training?

Answer 12

Primarily develops Type 1 motor units causing:

• Asynchronous motor unit firing for sustained muscular performance.
• Increased size and number of mitochondria.
• Increased oxygen delivery to the muscle fibres.
• Increased aerobic enzyme function within the muscle tissue.
• Improved aerobic threshold and ability to function without lactic acid build-up.

Question 13

What are the positive effects Resistance training?

Answer 13

Primarily develops Type 2 motor units causing:

• Decreased neural inhibition to allow better motor unit recruitment.
• Increased thickness or diameter of the recruited muscle fibres.
• Increased force production capacity of the muscle fibres.
• Increased anaerobic threshold and resistance to fatigue when lactic acid is present.

Question 14

What dose a motor unit consists of?

Answer 14

A single motor neuron and the fibres it controls

Question 15

What dose Sensory Input do?.

Answer 15

The nervous system gathers information from sensory receptors monitoring changes both inside and outside the body.

Question 16

What dose Integration do?

Answer 16

The nervous system extracts the information from the environment using sensory receptor and decides on an appropriate response.

Question 17

What dose Motor Response do?

Answer 17

The nervous system sends signals via motor output to muscles or glands to initiate the response.

Question 18

Describe homeostasis?

Answer 18

The tendency of the body to seek and maintain a condition of balance or equilibrium within its internal environment, even when faced with external changes.

Question 19

How many pairs of nerves extend from the central nervous system?

Answer 19

12 pairs of nerves that branch from the brain (cranial nerves) and 31 pairs that branch from the spinal cord (spinal nerves).

Question 20

What is the somatic system responsible for?

Answer 20

Somatic nervous system is responsible for movement of voluntary muscles and the process known as a reflex.

Question 21

What is the autonomic system responsible for?

Answer 21

The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that supplies the internal organs.

Question 22

What are the two main divisions for the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 22

• Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
• Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

Question 23

How is the autonomic branch divided?

Answer 23

• The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) controls the body’s responses to a perceived threat and is responsible for the “fight or flight” response.
• The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) controls homeostasis and the body at rest and is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” function.

Question 24

What is a neuron and what do they do?

Answer 24

The neuron is the basic working unit of the brain, a specialized cell designed to transmit information to other nerve cells, muscle, or gland cells.

Question 25

What is a neuron made up of?

Answer 25

• Cell body
• Dendrites
• Axon

Question 26

What is the cell body responsible for?

Answer 26

Cell body directs the activities of the neuron.

Question 27

What are dendrites responsible for?

Answer 27

Dendrites pick up impulses and transmit these to the cell body.

Question 28

What is the axon responsible for?

Answer 28

Axon transmits messages away from the cell body.

Question 29

What are the two main types of neurons and what do they do?

Answer 29

• Sensory neurons
• Motor neurons

Question 30

Explain what is meant by motor unit recruitment?

Answer 30

Motor unit recruitment refers to the activation of additional motor units to accomplish an increase in contractile strength in a muscle.