Area of Study 1, Outcome 1

Question 1

Define CNS

Answer 1

Central nervous system, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord

Question 2

Define PNS

Answer 2

Peripheral nervous system, consists of the nerves

Question 3

What are the subdivisions on the PNS

Answer 3

PNS divides into the somatic and autonomic nervous system

Question 4

what are the subdivisions and roles of the subdivisions in the ANS

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

What are afferent and efferent neurons

Answer 5

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

Question 6

What types of neurons are found within the nervous system and what are their roles

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

what are reflexive actions

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

What is the lock and key process

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

What are some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

Answer 9

Tremors- involuntary shaking of muscles while they are not in use
Bradykinesia- slowness of movement.

Question 10

What are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is Parkinson’s disease

Answer 11

A neurodegenerative disease characterized by the death of dopamine producing neurons in the basal ganglia.

Question 12

What is the role of the myelin sheath?

Answer 12

The myelin sheath insulates the axon, allowing for faster transferal of messages and protects the axon from electrical signals from other neurons.

Question 13

What changes may occur to an individual when they perceive danger to be present

Answer 13

the sympathetic system takes over and does thing such as dilating the pupils and increasing the heartbeat, stimulates release of adrenaline

Question 14

What are some examples of bodily functions that the parasympathetic system controls

Answer 14

maintains a regular heartbeat, contracts the pupils, stimulate the digestive tract

Question 15

What is the difference between eustress and distress

Answer 15

Eustress is a positive psychological response to a stressor which distress is a negative psychological response to a stressor

Question 16

5 ways in which stresses can be obtained

Answer 16

daily pressures, life events, acculturative stress, major stress and catastrophes that disrupt whole communities

Question 17

What are the stages in the General adaptation syndrome (GAS) and what do they do

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is coping

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what is an avoidance coping strategy

Answer 19

involves efforts that evade a stressor and deal indirectly with it and its effects

Question 20

what is context-specific effectiveness

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Things that affect the way in which an individual responds to a stressor

Answer 21

○ 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

Question 22

what is coping flexibility

Answer 22

the ability to adjust one’s coping strategies according to the demands of different stressful situations

Question 23

what is learning

Answer 23

a relatively permanent change that occurs through experience

Question 24

what is synaptic plasticity

Answer 24

refers to the ability of the synapse to change over time

Question 25

what is LTP

Answer 25

Long term potentiation; refers to the long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections, resulting in enhanced or more effective synaptic transmissions

Question 26

what is LTD

Answer 26

a long-lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic transmissions

Question 27

what is the role of adrenaline in memory

Answer 27

it can enhance the long-term consolidation of emotionally arousing experiences

Question 28

what is re-consolidation

Answer 28

when a memory is opened it is open to further consolidation and therefore has to undergo a process called re-consolidation

Question 29

what is consolidation

Answer 29

the biological process of making a newly formed memory stable and enduring after learning

Question 30

What are AMPA and NMDA

Answer 30

AMPA is receptor that prepares the post-synaptic neuron to receive glutamate, whilst NMDA is the receptor that actually receives the glutamate

Question 31

What is glutamate

Answer 31

the main excitatory neurotransmitter found within the brain, enhances information transfer between neurons by making the neurons more likely to fire

Question 32

What is Hebb’s rule

Answer 32

neurons that fire together wire together

Question 33

what is synaptic plasticity

Answer 33

refers to the ability of the synapse to change over time

Question 34

what is plasticity, in reference to the brain

Answer 34

refers to the brain’s ability to change its shape and relocate functions to different sections of the brain

Question 35

What is the use of LTD

Answer 35

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