Bio-psychology Flashcards
What are the divisions of the nervous system
Central and peripheral
What does the nervous system control?
Behaviour
The brain
Maintains life
Complex commands and decisions
Maintains life
Vital functioning (primitive areas)
Complex commands
Centre of awareness + consciousness - cerebral cortex
The spinal cord
Relays info in between the body and brain
Pairs of spinal nerves connect the rest of the body
What happens if the nerves in the spine become damaged
No further relay below that point
Peripheral nervous system
Nerves outside the CNS
Transmits messages via neutrons to and from the brain
The autonomic nervous system
Operates without consciousness
Governs vital functions
Is the automatic nervous system voluntary
No
What vital functions does the automatic nervous system control
Breathing Heart rate Digestion Sexual arousal Stress response
The somatic nervous system
Transmit and receive messages
Messages the muscles to react
Where does the somatic nervous system receive messages from
Sensory receptors in cells of the same organs to CNS
What stimulates muscles in the somatic nervous system
The neurotransmitter noradrenaline
What systems does the autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system
What does the sympathetic nervous system do
Increases bodily activity to deal with emergencies
Fight or flight
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do
Decreases or maintains bodily activity
Relaxes the body after emergencies
Rest and digest
Neuton structure
Dendrites are connected to the cell body and an axon
What are many nerves surrounded by
A myelin sheath
What does a myelin sheath do
Allows for transmission of impulses
What happens if the myelin sheath gets damaged
Transmission slows down
Where do dendrites receive signals from
Other neutrons or sensory receptors
where is the impulse passed to
the cell body to the axon
where does the impulse go after the axon
the terminal button of the pre-synaptic neuron
what is synaptic transmission
the process for transmitting messages from neuron to neuron
what do impulses stimulate
neurotransmitters
what are neurotransmitters
chemical transmitters
what are synapses
a fluid filled gap