❌The Neuromuscular System Flashcards
(39 cards)
What does the autonomic nervous system do?
Regulates the function of our internal organs such as the heart and also controls controls some of our skeletal muscles within the body.
It works involuntary.
What controls the movement of muscles?
The brain via nerves
What is the neuromuscular system?
Where the nervous system and the muscles work together to allow movement.
What is the peripheral nervous system.
The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Their role is to transmit information from the brain to parts of the body that need to adjust what they are doing to prepare for exercise.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Prepares the body for exercise and is often referred to as the ‘fight or flight response’.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
Has the opposite effect of the sympathetic system and relaxes the body and slows down many high energy functions.
It is often explained by the phrase ‘rest and relax’.
What does aerobic mean?
Literally means ‘with oxygen’ so it refers to exercise that is low to medium intensity where the oxygen demand of the muscles can be met.
What does anaerobic mean?
Means ‘without oxygen’ and refers to exercise at a high intensity such as sprinting, where the demand for oxygen by the muscles is so high that it cannot be met.
What are the types of muscle fibre?
Slow oxidative (type I) (also known as slow twitch) Fast oxidative glycolytic (type IIa) Fast glycolytic (type IIb)
What performer will have more slow twitch fibres?
Endurance athlete
What performer will have more fast twitch fibres?
Sprinter
What are slow twitch fibres?
These fibres have slower contraction speed than fast twitch fibres and are better adapted to lower intensity exercise such as long-distance running.
They produce most of their energy aerobically (using oxygen) and therefore have specific characteristics that allow them to use oxygen more effectively.
What are fast twitch fibres?
These fibres have a much faster contraction speed and can generate a greater force of contraction.
However, they do fatigue very quickly and are used for short, intense bursts of effort.
They produce most their energy anaerobically
What is a motor unit?
A motor neurone and it’s muscle fibres.
What are motor neurones?
Nerve cells which transmit the brains instructions as electrical impulses to the muscles.
What is a neuromuscular junction?
Where the motor neurone and the muscle fibre meet.
How many muscle fibre types are found in a motor unit?
Only one type can be found in one particular motor unit.
What is the all or none law?
Where a sequence of impulses has to be of sufficient intensity to stimulate all of the muscle fibres in a motor unit in order for them to contract. If not, none of them contract.
What is the threshold?
Minimum amount of stimulation.
How does a contraction occur?
Muscles fibres work with the nervous system so that a contraction can occur.
The motor neurone transmits the nerve impulses to the muscle fibre.
Each motor neurone has branches that end in the neuromuscular junction on the muscle fibre.
What type of muscle fibres do motor units contain?
Either slow twitch or fast twitch
When does the brain recruit slow twitch motor units?
For low intensity activity such as jogging or long-distance swimming.
When does the brain recruit fast twitch motor units?
If a greater force of contraction is needed.
For activities such as sprinting or power lifting.
How do you increase the strength of contraction?
Wave summation
Spatial summation
