bio test nervous system Flashcards
Our bodies are constantly working to remain in a stable state
- When you go for a run, your heart rate increases as the demand for ATP in your muscles goes up and the need for aerobic respiration (oxygen) increases.
- This response is your body attempting to keep interior conditions of the body stable
- Once you stop running, your heartrate will quickly begin to slow
- Your body is actively working to get back to “normal” conditions
Important variables within the body
blood sugar
fluid balance
body temperature
oxygen levels
blood pressure
pH
- These variables must stay within certain ranges.
- Changes in the external environment can cause these variables to change.
HOMEOSTASIS
- The process by which a constant internal environment is maintained despite changes in the external environment.
- The tendency of the body to maintain a relatively constant internal environment.
Sensor
1 of component of homeostatic control system
- function: detects a change in variable
- 5 senses
Control centre
2 of component of homeostatic control system
function: receives message from sensor and directs a response via effector
Effector
3 of component of homeostatic control system
- function: carries out the response initiated by the control centre, effecting change in variable
- does the actual response
- does the effect
The hypothalamus
- Part of the endocrine system (hormone system) that maintains homeostasis throughout the body
- controls everything in the body like hormones
Often serves as the coordinating/control centre:
- Receives messages from sensors/monitors
- Initiates a hormonal/nervous response
- sends response to pituitary gland, which sends the information to the rest of the body
- If there was a tumor that was affecting most of the body, it’s most likely to be pushing against the hypothalamus
Dynamic equilibrium
- Homeostasis is also called dynamic equilibrium
- chemical term of homeostasis
- Conditions do fluctuate, but within an acceptable range
- for example, at night, your body becomes more colder and during the day, it becomes hotter. This is within the range of the dynamic equilibrium, so it’s fine.
- Another example is when you have lots of blood fluid, which need to be rid of by peeing it out.
How is dynamic equilibrium maintained?
Feedback loops/systems:
- Negative feedback- reverse the change, return to normal, reduce system’s output
- Positive feedback - increase the change, move away from normal, increase system’s output
Negative feedback
- The response triggered by changing conditions serves to reverse the change
- E.g., Body temperature increases, Skin blood vessels dilate, Body temperature decreases
- example of homeostasis as it tries to balance everything out
- The negative feedback loop acts a balance trying to keep your body running smoothly!
Thermoregulation
- The maintenance of body temperatures within a range that enables cells to function effectively
- The internal temperature of our bodies is regulated to about 37°C
- this is because 37C is the optimal range for proteins in the body. If not 27, it will be denatured. This is also because of the fluidity of cell membrane. The best diffusion happens when the cell membrane is at 37C.
- Chemical reactions in the body are endothermic, and 37C allows the initiation of reactions in the body
- blood fluidity is also important and 37C is perfect for that
- involuntary
example:
- Receptors on the skin and deep inside the brain detect a stimulus (change in temperature)
- Signals are sent to the Thermoregulatory Centre (Hypothalamus)
- Hypothalamus triggers a response by the nervous system
- Response to Cold Temp:
Blood vessels constrict
Skin hairs raise up
Fat is burned so that energy is released from C-H bonds
Skeletal muscles vibrate (shivering) - Response to Hot Temp:
Blood vessels dilate
Skin hairs lower
Sweat glands activate
How does the body “know” when to regulate temperature, and “know” when to stop?
- Receptors in the nervous system detect changes in conditions due to a stimulus (temperature)
- Information is sent to control centers(hypothalamus) that will signal effectors(nerves, glands, muscles) to create a change in a positive or negative direction
Responses to Heat Stress
- Co-ordinating centre is the hypothalamus
Responses:
- Skin blood vessels will dilate
- Sweat glands will produce perspiration
- Both responses serve to lower body temperature to Return to normal range
Response to Cold Stress
- Coordinating/Control centre is the hypothalamus
Responses:
- Skin blood vessels will constrict
- Skeletal muscle will contract rapidly (shivering), increasing metabolism
- Smooth muscle around hair follicles will contract, producing goosebumps
- Responses serve to raise body temperature to Return to normal range
Summary of thermoregulation
Stimulus: cold
Physiological response:
- constriction of blood vessels in skin
- hairs on body erect
- shivering
Adjustment: heat is conserved and generated by increasing metabolism
Stimulus: heat
physiological response:
- dilation of blood vessels in skin
- sweating
- goosebumps: create unequal air flow regions. Idea was to trap heat in between goosebumps and allow the cold to flow over. Questionable effectiveness (moving towards vestigial trait).
Adjustment: heat is released
Positive feedback loops/systems
- The response triggered by changing conditions serves to move the variable even further away from its steady state
- never go back to normal
- E.g., When giving birth: uterine contractions are stimulated by oxytocin for baby to move towards cervix and more oxytocin is released
Importance of the nervous system
Both the nervous system and the endocrine system control the actions of the body, through a series of adjustments, to maintain the internal environment within safe limits.
Responses to change in the internal and external environments are made possible by either electrochemical messages relayed to and from the brain or by a series of chemical messengers.
The nervous system is an elaborate communication system that contains 100 billion nerve cells.
The Nervous system
The nervous system has two main divisions:
- central nervous system (CNS)
- peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord and acts as a coordinating centre for incoming and outgoing information.
The PNS consists of the nerves that carry information between the organs of the body and the CNS.
CNS
- central nervous system
- The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord and acts as a coordinating centre for incoming and outgoing information.
- integrates and processes information
- brain and spinal cord
- has spinal fluid
CNS is the structural and functional centre for the entire nervous system
site of neural integration and processing.
Myelinated neurons form white matter
Forms inner region of some areas of the brain and the outer area of the spinal cord.
Unmyelinated neurons form grey matter
found around the outside areas of the brain and forms the H-shaped core of the spinal cord.
PNS
- peripheral nervous system
- The PNS consists of the nerves that carry information between the organs of the body and the CNS.
- links CNS to the rest of the body
- peripheral nerves
- NOT protected properly, only protected by skin and muscles
organization of nervous system
two parts
- CNS (splits to brain and spinal cord
- PNS (splits to sensory pathways and motor pathways
- motor pathways splits to somatic nervous system (under conscious control- voluntary) and autonomic nervous system (not under conscious control- involuntary)
- Autonomic nervous system splits to sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system
Neurons
- cells in the nervous system
- basic functional units
- conduct electrochemical impulses
- organized into nerve tissue (multiple neurons make up nerve tissue)
- We can classify neurons based on the structure they have
Glial cells
- support neuron cells
- nourish neurons, remove wastes, defend against infection
Structure of a Neuron
Variable shapes and sizes; four common features
dendrites
- receives initial signals
- signals come through the cell body through dendrites
- the more dendrites, the more signals the cell body will receive, the more important the neuron is
cell body
axon
- tail that sends the signal to the ends of the neuron
- main communication pathway
- surrounded by Schwann cells to protect it
- these also help to insulate axon and send signal a lot faster
- this makes the signals jump between the Schwann cells to make it faster
- the places where the signal touches are called nodes of Ranvier
- if no Schwann cells, the signal will be sent very slowly
branching axon terminals
axons
Some axons are insulated:
- fatty layer called the myelin sheath
- sheath is made of individual Schwann cells (type of glial cell)
- two functions: protection; increase speed of conduction
Myelin is needed:
- Keeps the signal on the axon
- Gaps in the sheath let the signal travel faster at certain points (it travels slow inside of the fatty parts)
multipolar
Structural Classification of Neurons
- location: CNS
- structure: several dendrites, single axon
- must be in CNS because they are the most important and they help to receive the most stimuli
- they can also be found in other parts of body, not just CNS
Bipolar
Structural Classification of Neurons
- location: PNS/CNS
- structure: single dendrite, single axon
- usually links PNS and CNS
Unipolar
Structural Classification of Neurons
- Location: PNS
- Structure: single process from cell body, dendrite and axon fused
- dendrite and cell body aren’t together
- in PNS because it only receives signals but doesn’t integrate them
- all unipolar neurons are sensory neurons
Sensory
Functional Classification of Neurons
- Location: PNS
- function: receive stimuli from environment and generates nerve impulse
- also known as afferent neurons
- sense and relay information from the environment to the CNS for processing.
- Sensory neurons are located in clusters called ganglia, which are outside the spinal cord.
- Examples- special sensory receptors in the eye, known as photoreceptors, respond to light; there are receptors in your nose and tongue, called chemoreceptors that are sensitive to chemicals.
Interneuron
Functional Classification of Neurons
- Location: CNS
- Function: process and integrate sensory info; generate a motor response
- multipolar neurons
- link neurons within the body.
- They are predominantly found in the brain and spinal cord. Interneurons integrate and interpret the sensory information and connect neurons to outgoing motor neurons.
- sends out information to respond to stimulus
Motor
Functional Classification of Neurons
- Location: PNS
- Function: carry info from CNS to effectors: muscles, glands, other organ
- also known as efferent neurons
- receives information from CNS and carries out the response of what the interneuron told it to do
- relay information to effectors. These effectors are muscles, organs and glands. They are classified as effectors because they produce responses.
- Motor neurons originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibres to make muscles contract.
- They are stimulated by interneurons, sometimes sensory neurons
- multipolar neurons
The Reflex Arc
- A shorter neuron pathway to produce involuntary, reflexive behaviours
e.g., knee-jerk reflex, withdrawal reflex - simpler than typical transmission pathway
- skips the brain processing (goes through spinal cord)
Effector carries out the action/response - motor response is generated before the brain integrates sensory input, rapid involuntary response
- This is why after stepping on a stone, you scream/feel pain after your foot has been pulled away. The brain has then had time to process the information
- This reaction occurs through the reflex arc. Most reflexes occur without brain coordination. The reflex arc contains 5 essential components:
- The receptor (pain receptor on the skin)
- The sensory neuron (passes an impulse to the interneuron)
- The interneuron in the spinal cord (relays an impulse to a motor neuron)
- The motor neuron (causes the muscle (effector) in the hand to contract and pull away)
- The effector (muscle contracting)