Area of Study 1, Outcome 1 Flashcards
Define CNS
Central nervous system, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord
Define PNS
Peripheral nervous system, consists of the nerves
What are the subdivisions on the PNS
PNS divides into the somatic and autonomic nervous system
what are the subdivisions and roles of the subdivisions in the ANS
the ANS subdivides into 2 subdivisions, the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for maintaining the body during times of safety, when the body is not perceived to be in danger. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for maintaining the body whilst it is perceived to be in danger.
What are afferent and efferent neurons
afferent cells are responsible for sending sensory information from the receptors to the CNS. Efferent neurons are responsible for transporting motor commands from the CNS to the effector
What types of neurons are found within the nervous system and what are their roles
sensory neurons, transport sensory information from receptors to the CNS. interneurons, carry information through the CNS. Motor neurons, carry information from the CNS to their respective effectors.
what are reflexive actions
a reflexive action is an unconscious response to a stimuli. Reflexive actions are made to keep the organism safe and do not involves the brain when making a response and in so have much faster response times.
What is the lock and key process
the lock and key process is a theory created to explain the interactions between a neurotransmitter and a receptor. Neurotransmitters are the key whilst receptors are the lock. Only the correct neurotransmitter, or key, will be absorbed by a receptors, the lock.
What are some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?
Tremors- involuntary shaking of muscles while they are not in use
Bradykinesia- slowness of movement.
What are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters
excitatory neurotransmitters are neurotransmitters that stimulate the neuron to fire, whilst inhibitory neurotransmitters inhibit the neuron from firing. An example of an excitatory neurotransmitter is glutamate and GABA is an example of an inhibitory neurotransmitter
What is Parkinson’s disease
A neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of dopamine producing neurons in the basal ganglia.
What is the role of the myelin sheath?
The myelin sheath insulates the axon, allowing for faster transferal of messages and protects the axon from electrical signals from other neurons.
What changes may occur to an individual when they perceive danger to be present
the sympathetic system takes over and does thing such as dilating the pupils and increasing the heartbeat, stimulates release of adrenaline
What are some examples of bodily functions that the parasympathetic system controls
maintains a regular heartbeat, contracts the pupils, stimulate the digestive tract
What is the difference between eustress and distress
Eustress is a positive psychological response to a stressor which distress is a negative psychological response to a stressor
5 ways in which stresses can be obtained
daily pressures, life events, acculturative stress, major stress and catastrophes that disrupt whole communities
What are the stages in the General adaptation syndrome (GAS) and what do they do
alarm: person first becomes aware of the stressor, body goes into a state of shock and then counter shock
Resistance: body’s resistance to the stressor increases above normal
Exhaustion: body becomes depleted of its resources, body can no longer sustain the resources required to maintain the stress
What is coping
a process involving cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific internal and/or external stressors that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person in a stressful situation
what is an avoidance coping strategy
involves efforts that evade a stressor and deal indirectly with it and its effects
what is context-specific effectiveness
in relation to coping with stress, when there is a math or ‘good fit’ between the coping strategy that is used and the stressful situation.
Things that affect the way in which an individual responds to a stressor
○ Prior experiences with stressors and stress responses
○ Attitudes
○ Motivation
○ Level of self-esteem
○ General outlook on life (e.g. optimism vs. pessimism)
○ Personality characteristics
○ Coping skills
Perception of how much control we have over a stressful event or situation
what is coping flexibility
the ability to adjust one’s coping strategies according to the demands of different stressful situations
what is learning
a relatively permanent change that occurs through experience
what is synaptic plasticity
refers to the ability of the synapse to change over time
what is LTP
Long term potentiation; refers to the long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections, resulting in enhanced or more effective synaptic transmissions
what is LTD
a long-lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic transmissions
what is the role of adrenaline in memory
it can enhance the long-term consolidation of emotionally arousing experiences
what is re-consolidation
when a memory is opened it is open to further consolidation and therefore has to undergo a process called re-consolidation
what is consolidation
the biological process of making a newly formed memory stable and enduring after learning
What are AMPA and NMDA
AMPA is receptor that prepares the post-synaptic neuron to receive glutamate, whilst NMDA is the receptor that actually receives the glutamate
What is glutamate
the main excitatory neurotransmitter found within the brain, enhances information transfer between neurons by making the neurons more likely to fire
What is Hebb’s rule
neurons that fire together wire together
what is synaptic plasticity
refers to the ability of the synapse to change over time
what is plasticity, in reference to the brain
refers to the brain’s ability to change its shape and relocate functions to different sections of the brain
What is the use of LTD
LTD helps prune unused or unwanted synaptic connections, leaving only connections that have been strengthened by LTP. This leads to a more efficient system overall
