Aos 3.1 - Nervous system and stress

Question 1

Acculturative stress

Answer 1

the stress people experience when trying to adapt to the values, customs and language preferences of a new culture when living in it for a considerable period of time.

Question 2

Action potential (neural impulse)

Answer 2

the electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron during transmission of a neural impulse
occurs as the result of the rapid depolarisation of the neuron’s membrane, prompting the release of neurotransmitters

Question 3

Acute stress

Answer 3

stress episodes that tend to produce a very high arousal level for a relatively short time

Question 4

Adrenal glands

Answer 4

endocrine glands that sit at the top of the kidneys and are responsible for releasing hormones in response to stress through the synthesis of adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenaline and cortisol

Question 5

Adrenaline (epinephrine)

Answer 5

The hormone produced by the adrenal glands that also acts as a neurotransmitter
generally arousing the body through a sympathetic response to prepare it for action

Question 6

Afferent information

Answer 6

sensory information coming into the CNs (incoming info)

Question 7

Afferent nerves (sensory nerves)

Answer 7

specialised neurons within the pns that detect sensory info received from receptors all over the body and transmit this to the brain via the spinal cord

Question 8

Agonist

Answer 8

in neural communication, a substance that binds to a neuroreceptor to produce a similar effect of a neurotransmitter in either exciting or inhibiting a postsynaptic neuron

Question 9

Alarm reaction

Answer 9

the initial stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome
occurs when the person first becomes aware of the stressor, triggering a general defensive reaction to the stressor resulting in a state of tension and alertness, and a readiness to respond to the stessor

Question 10

Antagonist

Answer 10

in neural communication, a substance that suppresses the release of a neurotransmitter or blocks the receptor sites, making the postsynaptic neuron less likely to fire

Question 11

Appraisal

Answer 11

the cognitive interpretation and evaluation of a situation which then affects our emotional, or affective, response

Question 12

Appraisal-focused coping

Answer 12

the process of dealing with ongoing stress by reassessing the situation to modify our perception and interpretation of the stressor in order to alter our response

Question 13

Approach strategies

Answer 13

efforts to confront a stressor and deal directly with it and its effects.
activity is focused towards the stressor, its causes and a solution that with address the underlying problem, issue or concern and minimise or eliminate its impact
strategies involve engagement with the stressor

Question 14

Arousal

Answer 14

activation of bodily resources leading to a heightened state of physical aleertness and readiness for action

Question 15

Autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Answer 15

The branch of the PNS that’s divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
connect the CNS to the body’s visceral muscles, internal organs and glands regulates and provides feedback to the brain about their activities
both systems work to expend and conserve energy
The ANS is ‘autonomous’ because many of the organ, glands and processes under its control are self-regulated

Question 16

Avoidance strategies

Answer 16

efforts that evade a stressor and deal indirectly with it and its effects.
activity is focused away from the stressor and there is no attempt to actively confront the stressor and its causes.
Strategies involve behavioural or emotional disengagement

Question 17

Axon

Answer 17

a single, tube-like extension of a neuron that transmits neural information away from the cell body to the synaptic connection with other neurons

Question 18

Axon collaterals

Answer 18

small branches at the end of an axon

Question 19

Axon terminals

Answer 19

the small knob-like swelling at the end of the axon collaterals.
Neurotransmitters are released from the tip of axon terminals to send messages to the dendrites of other neurones

Question 20

Basal ganglia

Answer 20

a region of the brain beneath the cortex that plays a role in controlling movement and motor coordination

Question 21

Brain

Answer 21

The command centre of the CNS responsible for coordination of all of the body’s conscious and unconscious activities

Question 22

Central nervous system (CNS)

Answer 22

comprised of the brain and the spinal cord
main function is to process infor received from the body’s internal and external environments
activates appropriate responses
transmits neural messages to the peripheral nervous system

Question 23

Cerebellum

Answer 23

structure at the rear base of the brain responsible for:
- controlling muscle tone
- balance
- coordination of fine motor skills
involved in the formation and storage of procedural memories and implicit memories of simple conditioned reflexes

Question 24

Cerebral cortex

Answer 24

thin layer of tissue that constitutes the wrinkled outer layer of the cerebrum.
enables conscious experience and higher mental functioning, and basic sensory processing and motor functioning

Question 25

Cerebrum

Answer 25

the largest structure in the human brain, responsible for controlling our higher cognitive and emotional functions

Question 26

Challenge

Answer 26

an assessment of a situation as being an opportunity with the potential for personal gain or growth

Question 27

Chronic stress

Answer 27

Ongoing demands, pressures and worries that produce and increased arousal level that persists over a relatively long time a likely to be harmful in some way to health and wellbeing, both psychological and physically

Question 28

Conscious response

Answer 28

a reaction to a sensory stimulus that involves attention and awareness will usually be a voluntary, intentional, controlled reaction that is also likely to be goal directed

Question 29

Context-specific effectiveness

Answer 29

when there is a match or a 'good fit' between the coping strategy that is used and the stressful situation

Question 30

Coping

Answer 30

a specific method to effectively manage, tolerate, or reduce the demands and reactions to a stressor through cognitive and behavioural efforts to deal with specific internal and/or external stressors that are taxing or exceeding the resources of the person

Question 31

Coping flexibility

Answer 31

the ability to effectively modify or adjust one's coping strategies according to the demands of different stressful situations

Question 32

Cortisol

Answer 32

hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to prolonged stress main effect is to energise the body by increasing energy supplies helps to repair damage to the body while under stress through an anti-inflammatory effect also stops tissue repair & impairs immune system functioning

Question 33

Countershock

Answer 33

the 2nd component of the General adaptation syndrome's alarm reaction stage involves the defensive rebound from the shock produced by a stressor increases body's resistance to the stressor by activating sympns

Question 34

Dendrites

Answer 34

an extension of a neuron that detects and receives information from other neurons via neurotransmitters

Question 35

Dopamine

Answer 35

neurotransmitter that is necessary for production of smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement associated with the reward-seeking system of the brain, providing feelings of pleasure and reinforcement to motivate a person to perform certain activities

Question 36

Efferent information

Answer 36

motor info leaving the CNS (outgoing)

Question 37

Efferent nerves (motor nerves)

Answer 37

neurons in the PNS that transmit information or motor commands from the brain to the muscle, glands or organ to enable a response

Question 38

Emotion-focussed coping

Answer 38

the process of dealing with ongoing stress by attempting to reduce the negative feelings in a stress response in order to deal with the emotional response to a stressor tend to be used when we believe that we have little or no control over a situation and therefore cannot do anything to change the circumstance

Question 39

Eustress

Answer 39

term used to refer to "good' stress involving a beneficial or desirable psychological response to a stressor (feeling enthusiastic, excited, motivated) typically short-term & can provide energy & motivation to achieve a goal

Question 40

Excitatory neurotransmitters

Answer 40

neurotransmitters that stimulate or activate postsynaptic neurons to perform their functions

Question 41

Excitatory synapse

Answer 41

at this synapse, the electrochemical process depolarises the post-synaptic membrane, thus making its interior charge more positive this process initiates the firing of an action potential by a target cell

Question 42

Exhaustion

Answer 42

the 3rd stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome - if stress is prolonged or there are several stressors, the body's ability to resist decreases, falling below normal levels, resulting in depleted energy, weakness, and vulnerability to physical and psychological illnesses

Question 43

'Fight-flight-freeze' response

Answer 43

triggered by the hypothalamus an involuntary state of increased arousal that occurs when the sns is activated all 3 responses considered to be adaptive survival mechanisms that enable us to effectively react to a threat

Question 44

Freeze reaction

Answer 44

when initiated, parasympathetic ns dominate over existing effects over sns leaving the orgnaism unable to move resulting condition allows animal to quickly escape by suddenly switching to sns

Question 45

Gamma-Amino Butyric Acid (GABA)

Answer 45

the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the cns works throughout the brain to slow down neural activity, making postsynaptic neurons less likely to fire in order to fine-tune neurotransmission inhibits over-excitation in the brain to maintain neurotransmission at an optimal, or best possible level

Question 46

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Answer 46

a three-stage physiological response to stress that occurs regardless of the stressor that is encountered consists of 3 stages: 1. an alarm reaction state (shock & counter shock) 2. resistance stage 3. exhaustion stage

Question 47

Glial cells (Glia)

Answer 47

specialised non-excitable cells that - perform supportive roles to neurons in the brain by - hold neurons together - facilitatee neural transmission by forming the myelin sheath, - remove damaged and dead neurons - prevent poisonous substances in the blood from reaching the brain

Question 48

Glutamate (Glu)

Answer 48

the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS enhances information transmission by making postsynaptic neurons more likely to fire 2nd most abundant ntm in the brain & involved in most aspects of normal brain function (perception, learning, memory, thinking, movement)

Question 49

Gut microbiota (gut flora)

Answer 49

the system of micro-organisms, including bacteria, that live in the digestive system play important roles in digestion and metabolism also affect brain health and functioning through extensive connections between the ens and cns

Question 50

Gut-brain axis (GBA)

Answer 50

network of 2-way communication that allows communication between gut microbiota and brain included communication via chemical transmission through bloodstream, neural and hormonal pathways, and via immune system causes disorders in the gut to affect the brain and vice versa

Question 51

Homeostasis

Answer 51

a state of internal equilibrium which an individual actively seeks to maintain

Question 52

Hormones

Answer 52

Chemical messengers within the body, manufactured and secreted by the endocrine glands, that regulate metabolism and influence body growth, mood, and sexual characteristics

Question 53

HPA axis

Answer 53

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis a major physiological pathway of the neuroendocrine system regulates many body processes in a chain of direct influences and feedback interactions, in particular mediating the body's response to chronic, ongoing stress

Question 54

Hypothalamus

Answer 54

structure in the brain that triggers the 'fight-flight-freeze' response through its link with the pituitary gland, leading to a state of increased arousal in reaction to a perceived threat

Question 55

Inhibitory neurotransmitters

Answer 55

neurotransmitters that block or prevent postsynaptic neurons from firing

Question 56

Inhibitory synapse

Answer 56

at this synapse, the electrochemical process hyperpolarises the post-synaptic membrane, thus making its interior charge more negative stops the firing of an action potential by a target cell.

Question 57

Interneuron

Answer 57

aka: connecting or association neuron neuron that sends messages between sensory & motor neurons within the cns, relaying info from one to the other

Question 58

'Lock and key' process

Answer 58

receptor sites of the postsynaptic neurons' dendrites recognise neurotransmitters by their chemically-distinct shape when the shape matches the receptor site, it binds to the receptors in order to allow neurotransmission of the message if a neurotransmitters' shape doesn't fit it is blocked

Question 59

Locus of control

Answer 59

a general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under you own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus)

Question 60

Long-term depression (LTD)

Answer 60

a form of neural plasticity that results in a long-lasting reduction in the strength of a neural response due to persistent weak stimulation

Question 61

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 61

a form of neural plasticity results in long-lasting strengthening of neural connections at the synapse due to repeated stimulations between neurons during learning. improves ability of 2 neurons to communicate ^ resulting in enhanced functioning of the neurons when activated. Demonstrated to occur in cells of the hippocampus - produce the neural changes that underlie the formation of memory

Question 62

Motor (efferent) information

Answer 62

information carried along motor neural pathways by motor neurons to skeletal muscles to control their activity by causing them to contract or relax

Question 63

motor neuron

Answer 63

aka: efferent, effector or motor neuron neurons within the pns that transmit information or commands from the brain via the spinal cord to cells in skeletal muscles, organs & glands to enable a response

Question 64

Myelin sheath

Answer 64

the white, fatty coating (made of glial cells) that surrounds and insulates the axon to allow the rapid movement of messages along the axon without being interrupted or distorted by interferences

Question 65

Neuromodulator

Answer 65

a chemical that acts like a neurotransmitter, but doesn't act alone influence the action of another neurotransmitter and are not restricted to the synaptic cleft

Question 66

Neuron

Answer 66

a nerve cell receives and transmits neural information to other cells via electrochemical impulses

Question 67

Neurotransmitter

Answer 67

a chemical substance manufactured by the neuron, released from the terminal button of a pre-synaptic neuron in response to a neural impulse to pass across the synaptic gap and carry its message by attaching itself to receptor sites

Question 68

Non-skeletal muscles

Answer 68

aka: visceral muscles muscles that are associated with internal organs, such as the heart and lungs, as well as the glands

Question 69

Noradrenaline

Answer 69

a neurotransmitter secreted from neurons and a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands into the blood

Question 70

Parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 70

subdivision of the ans: - counterbalances activities of the sns by decreasing activity of most visceral muscles, organs & glands - restores & maintaines normal functioning in times of minimal stress & absence of threat - involved in routine, everyday activities and dominates the ans most of the time

Question 71

Parkinson's disease

Answer 71

a neurodegenerative disorder of the cns characterised by both motor and non-motor symptoms motor symptoms result from the degeneration and loss of neurons in the sustantia nigra

Question 72

Peripheral nervous system (pns)

Answer 72

the entire network of nerves outside the cns divided into sns and ans main function to transmit info to and from the cns

Question 73

Pituitary gland

Answer 73

the 'master gland' controlling the release of hormones from the other glands within the endocrine system

Question 74

Primary appraisal

Answer 74

an evaluation or 'judgement' about the signicance of an event to decide whether the event is irrelevant, benign, +ve, or stressful if it is stressful then we engage in more appraisals to decide if harmful, threatening, or challenging

Question 75

Problem-focused coping

Answer 75

deal directly with the stressor to manage, reduce or eliminate it tend to be used when we believe that we have some control over a stressful situation and think that we can change the circumstances, or at least change ourselves to more capably deal with the circumstances

Question 76

Psychobiological process

Answer 76

processes that incorporate both biological and psychological components and consequences

Question 77

psychosomatic illness

Answer 77

actual physical symptoms and/or ailments which are attributed to a combination of physiological and psychological factors, such as emotional distress

Question 78

Receptor site

Answer 78

minute areas on the surface of the post-synaptic neuron that are specialised to receive specific neurotransmitter molecules

Question 79

Reflex arc

Answer 79

aka: spinal reflex response to an incoming stimulus that is automatically 'reflected back' from the spinal cord enabling the motor neurons to react to a sensory stimulus without any initial input from the brain and before the brain processes a conscious perception of the stimulus

Question 80

Rerouting

Answer 80

in cases where damage has occurred within the brain, undamaged neurons may sprout new extensions to compensate for any loss of function if an undamaged neuron has lost a communication point with an active neuron, it may seek a new neuron to link with allows messages to be sent along a new neural pathway & around the damaged area

Question 81

Resistance

Answer 81

during the 2nd stage of general adaptation syndrome body's resistance to the stressor rises above normal. the intense arousal of alarm reaction diminishes but then remains at a normal level. Since the body needs to generate resistance, all unnecessary physiological processes shut down

Question 82

Reuptake

Answer 82

the process whereby neurotransmitter molecules that do not bind to receptors in the postsynaptic neuron are absorbed back into the terminal buttons by the presynaptic neuron

Question 83

Secondary appraisal

Answer 83

an assessment of the controllability of the situation and the individual's coping resources and options for dealing with the event

Question 84

Sensory (afferent) information

Answer 84

info received at sensory receptor sites in the body and carried along afferent neural pathways by sensory neurons

Question 85

Sensory neurons

Answer 85

aka: afferent neurons or affectors neurons in the pns that detect sensory info from both the external and internal environments received from receptors all over the body and transmit this to the brain via the spinal cord

Question 86

Serotonin

Answer 86

a modulatory neurotransmitter that regulates many functions, including: mood, the sleep-wake cycle, memory processing, and appetite

Question 87

Shock

Answer 87

the 1st component of the general adaptation syndrome's alarm reaction stage where the body's ability to deal with the stressor temporarily falls below its normal level physiologically, the body reacts as if it were injured

Question 88

somatic nervous system

Answer 88

a network of nerves responsible for carrying sensory info to the cns and motor info away from the cns to initiate voluntary motor movement

Question 89

Spinal cord

Answer 89

long, thin bundle of nerve tissue that extends from the base of the brain to lower back functions: - receive sensory info from body & send to brain - receive motor info from brain & send to body - initiate relexes

Question 90

Sprouting

Answer 90

following stimulation and repeated activation, the growth of more neural branches to make more connections with other neurons

Question 91

Stressor

Answer 91

a specific physical or psychological event or situation that is assessed by an individual as being a challenge or potential threat to their well-being which leads them to experience stress

Question 92

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 92

subdivision of the ans responsible for activating internal muscles, organs and glands prepares body for vigorous activity or to deal with a stressful/threatening situation enhances survival by providing an immediate response

Question 93

Synaptic plasticity

Answer 93

the ability of neurons to change their structure to create new synapses or eliminate redundant ones

Question 94

Synaptic pruning

Answer 94

the elimination of redundant synaptic connections, particularly during the brain's early development

Question 95

Synaptic vesicles

Answer 95

structures within the axon terminals that house and release neurotransmitter molecules

Question 96

Synaptogenesis

Answer 96

the formation of new synapses as a result of learning, particularly during the brain's early development

Question 97

Terminal button

Answer 97

a small structure like a sac that stores and secretes neurotransmitters that are manufactured by the neuron and carries its chemical message to other neurons or cells

Question 98

Tonic immobility

Answer 98

the aspect of the fight-flight-freeze response involving the apparent frozen state of the body eg. playing dead

Question 99

Transactional model of stress and coping

Answer 99

theory which proposes that stress involves an encounter between an individual and their external environment, and that a stress response depends upon the individual's interpretation of the stressor and their ability to cope with it

Question 100

Vagus nerve

Answer 100

the 10th cardinal nerve that is the major communication route in the gut-brain axis extends from brainstem to provide parasympathetic innervation to many organs, including the gut and digestive organs

Question 101

Viscera muscles

Answer 101

muscles involved in the activity of internal organs and glands that do not depend on voluntary control by the brain as they have built-in mechanisms for generating activity to function continuously

Question 102

Enteric nervous system

Answer 102

the network of nerves in the gut and is a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system