Biopsychology part 1
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- Created by: laelle1479
- Created on: 13-05-17 12:46
What is the nervous system?
A specialised network of cells in the human body that is our primary internal communication system
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What's the function of the nervous system?
To collect, process and respond to environmental stimuli by the working of different cells and organs in the body
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What are the divisons of the nervous system?
The Central Nervous System + Peripheral Nervous System
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Describe the role of the CNS?
In charge of all complex commands and decisions
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What does the CNS consist of?
The brain and spinal cord
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Describe the brain?
The centre of consious awareness. Has 2 hemispheres. The outer layer called the 'cerebral cortex' is highly developed in humans and is what distinguishes our higher mental functioning from animals
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Describe the spinal cord?
An extension of the brain. Responsible for reflex actions.
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Describe the role of the PNS?
Sends information from the outside world to the CNS, and transmits messages from the CNS to the muscles and glands
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How are messages transmitted?
Through milllions of neurons
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What is the PNS subdivided into?
The somatic + autonomic nervous system
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The somatic nervous system function?
Governs voluntary functions such as muscle movement. Recieves information from sensory receptors
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The autonomous nervous system function?
Governs involuntary functions such as breathing, heart rate, digestion etc. branches into the parasympathetic and sympathetic branch
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What system works alongside the nervous system?
Endocrine System
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What is the endocrine system?
One of the body's major information systems that instructs glands to release hormrones into the blood stream where they are carried to target organs
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What are hormones?
Chemical messengers, secreted from glands, that are carried in the bloodstream towards target cells/tissues/organs with complementary receptors
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What are glands?
Organs that produce and secrete hormones into the bloodstream
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Examples of endocrine glands?
Pineal, thyroid, pituitary, adrenal, ovaries + testes
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What is the pituitary gland?
A major gland in the brain known as the 'master gland' because it affects the release of all other hormones from other endocrine glands in the body
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What gland releases thyroxine?
The thyroid gland
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What is the function of thyroxine?
Affects the heart's cells by increasing heart rate. It also increase metabloic activity, which in turn affects growth rates
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In the fight or flight response, what happens first?
The stressor is detected + the hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System
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What happens next?
The ANS changes from resting state (parasympathetic), to psychologically aroused (sympathetic state)
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What is then released, from where?
Adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla, of the adrenal gland
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What does this trigger?
Psychological changes creating arousal for the fight or flight response
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What are the psychological changes associated with the sympathetic branch?
Increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, decreased digestion, pupils dilate
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What happens after the threat has passed?
The parasympathetic branch acts antagonstically to the sympathetic branch by returning the body to resting state
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What is this known as?
'Rest and digest'
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Psychological changes associated with the parasympathetic branch?
Decreased heart rate, decreased breathing rate, pupils contract
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What are neurons?
Nerve cells that transmitt messages electrically and chemically
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What are the 3 types of neurons?
Sensory, relay and motor
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Describe the structure of sensory neurons?
Long dendrites + short axon (cell body at centre of cell)
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Describe the structure of relay neurons?
Short dendrites + short axon
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Describe the structure of motor neurons?
Short dendrite + long axons
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What do sensory neurons do?
Carry messages from the PNS to the CNS
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What do they do to the message received from sensory receptors?
Convert the info into neural impulses, which are translated into sensations in the CNS (e.g. pain, heat) to allow an appropriate response
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What do relay neurons do?
Connect sensory neurons to other relay neurons/motor neurons in the CNS
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What do relay neurons allow?
The sensory and motor neurons to communicate
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What do motor neurons do?
Connects the CNS with the effectors; muscles + glands
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What does the cell body contain?
A nucleus, containing the genetic material of the cell
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What are the dendrites?
Protrusions from the cell body that carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body
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What does the axon do?
Carry neural impulses from the cell body down the length of the neuron
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What is the myelin sheath?
A fatty layer covering the axon- protecting it and speeding up the electrical transmission of the impulse
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What are nodes of ranvier?
Gaps in the myelin sheath- allowing speedy transmission that jumps from gap to gap
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What are terminal buttons?
Buttons at the end of the axon that allow the neuron to communicate with the next across the synapse
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How is an electrical impulse generated in a neuron?
When activated by a stimulus, the inside of a neuron becomes more positively charged inside than outside, causing an action potential to occur. This creates an electrical impulse
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How are signals transmitted within neurons?
Electrically
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How are signals transmitted between neurons?
Chemically
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How does chemical transmission occur?
When an electrical impulse reaches the end of the neurons axon, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters from vesicles- theses bind to complementary receptors on the post-synaptic neuron
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What effect can neurotransmitters have on neighbouring neurons?
Excitatory or inhibatory
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What is excitation?
When a neurotransmitter increases the positive charge of the post-synaptic neuron making it more likely to fire + pass on the neural impulse (e.g. adrenaline)
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What is inhibition?
When a neurtransmitters makes the post-synaptic neuron more negative, so it is less likely to fire + pass on the neural impulse (e.g. serotonin)
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What is the holistic theory?
That all parts of the brain are responsible for different physical and psychological processes
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What is localisation of function?
The idea that different areas of the brain are responsible for different physical and psychological processes- and different areas of the body
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So what happens if a particular area become damaged?
The function associated with that area will be affected
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What is hemispheric lateralisation?
The idea that each hemisphere dominates/ is responsible for particular physical and psychological functions
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What does the right hemisphere control?
Activity on the left-hand side of the body (and vice versa)
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What's the cerebral cortex?
Outer layer of the brain; that is more highly developed in humans and distinguishes our higher mental functioning from animals
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On which side of the brain is language restricted to?
The left hand side
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What is Broca's area?
Area in the left frontal lobe; that's responsible for language production
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What happens in Broca's area is damaged?
Broca's aphasia; slow, laborous speech that lacks fluency
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What is Wernicke's area?
An area in the left temporal lobe; responsible for language comprehension
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What happens in Wernicke's area is damaged?
Wernicke's aphasis; sufferer produces nonsense words (neologisms)
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Where is the motor area (responsible for voluntary movements)?
In the frontal lobe
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What area is in the parietal lobe?
Somatosensory area (holds information about sensitivity of skin)
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Where is the visual area?
In the occipital lobe
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What area is in the temporal lobe?
Auditory area (analyses speech based information)
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What's the function of the nervous system?
Back
To collect, process and respond to environmental stimuli by the working of different cells and organs in the body
Card 3
Front
What are the divisons of the nervous system?
Back
Card 4
Front
Describe the role of the CNS?
Back
Card 5
Front
What does the CNS consist of?
Back
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