5.5.8 Mammalian Nervous System Flashcards
What are the 2 systems in the human nervous system? What do they consist of?
- Peripheral (all the nerves in the body
- Central (brain and spinal cord)
How is information passed on through the nervous system?
Electrical signals called impulses are passed along neurones
What is a nerve
Bundle of neurones
What do neurones do?
Coordinate the activities of :
- sensory receptors
- decision making centres in CNS (brain and spinal cord)
- Effectors like muscles and glands
What essentially are the ‘2 parts’ of the nervous system?
- Somatic Nervous System
- Autonomic Nervous System
What does the somatic nervous system control? What does this system contain?
- Voluntary movements
- Sensory nerves
- Motor Nerves
- Spinal Nerves
What do sensory neurones do?
Carry impulses from sensory receptors in organs to CNS
What do motor neurones do?
Carry impulses from CNS to muscles and glands to initiate a response
What are spinal nerves?
- In spinal cord
- Mixed nerves containing both sensory and motor neurones
What does the autonomic nervous system control? What can it be essentially broken down into?
- Self controlling
- Involuntary actions and functions
- Eg. Heart rate, regulation of blood vessel diameter, peristalsis in gut
Can itself be divided into 2 parts
- Sympathetic nervous system (fight of flight)
- Parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest)
What does the sympathetic nervous system control?
- Fight or flight responses
- Releases adrenaline
- Heart rate increases
- Blood flow to respiring muscles increases
- So more oxygen and glucose for respiration
- And high intensity activities like running from predators can be an immediate response
