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AS Psychology > Bio - The nervous system > Flashcards

Bio - The nervous system Flashcards

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1
Q

How much of the body’s weight is made up by the brain?

A

About 2%.

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2
Q

What is the nervous system divided into?

A

Central nervous system (CNS)

Peripheral nervous system

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3
Q

What are the 2 parts of the CNS?

A

Brain and spinal cord.

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4
Q

What are the 2 parts of the peripheral nervous system?

A

Somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.

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5
Q

What are the 2 parts of the autonomic nervous system?

A

Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

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6
Q

What are the 2 main functions of the CNS?

A

Control of behaviour and regulation of the body’s physiological processes.

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7
Q

What does the brain receive information from in order to function?

A

The sensory receptors (eyes, ears, skin, etc.)

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8
Q

What does the brain have to do in order to function?

A

Receive information from the sensory receptors and be able to send messages to the muscles and glands of the body including the spinal cord.

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9
Q

What is the spinal cord?

A

A collection of nerve cells that are attached to the brain and run the length of the spinal column.

A bundle of nerve fibres enclosed within the spinal column and which connects nearly all parts of the body with the brain.

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10
Q

What is the main function of the spinal cord?

A

Relay information between the brain and the rest of the body.

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11
Q

What does the relay of information between the brain and the rest of the body allow?

A

The brain to monitor and regulate bodily processes, such as digestion and breathing, and to coordinate voluntary movements.

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12
Q

How is the spinal cord connected to different parts of the body?

A

By pairs of spinal nerves which connect with specific muscles and glands.

For example, spinal nerves which branch off from the thoracic region of the spinal cord carry messages to and from the chest and parts of the abdomen.

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13
Q

What do spinal nerves which branch off of the thoracic region do?

A

Carry messages to and from the chest and parts of the abdomen.

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14
Q

How does the spinal cord allow us to perform some simple reflexes?

A

Contains circuits of nerve cells that enable us to perform the reflex without direct involvement of the brain.

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15
Q

Give an example of a simple reflex:

A

Pulling your hand away from something that is hot.

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16
Q

What happens if the spinal cord is damaged?

A

Areas supplied by spinal nerves below the damaged site will be cut off from the brain and will stop functioning.

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17
Q

What are the 4 main areas of the brain?

A

The cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon and brain stem.

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18
Q

What is the cerebrum?

A

The largest part of the brain.

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19
Q

What is the largest part of the brain?

A

The cerebrum.

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20
Q

What is the cerebrum divided into?

A

4 lobes.

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21
Q

What are the four lobes of the cerebrum?

A

Frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe and parietal lobe.

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22
Q

What is the frontal lobe involved in?

A

Thought and production of speech.

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23
Q

What is the occipital lobe involved in?

A

Processing of visual images.

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24
Q

What is the temporal lobe involved in?

A

Hearing and memory.

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25
Q

What is the parietal lobe involved in?

A

Processing sensory information such as touch temperature and pain.

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26
Q

Where is the frontal lobe?

A

At the front of the cerebrum.

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27
Q

Where is the occipital lobe?

A

At the back of the cerebrum.

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28
Q

Where is the temporal lobe?

A

Above the brainstem in the cerebrum.

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29
Q

Where is the parietal lobe?

A

At the top of the cerebrum.

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30
Q

The cerebrum is split into two halves, what are these called?

A

Cerebral hemispheres.

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31
Q

How do the cerebral hemispheres work together?

A

They communicate with each other through the corpus callosum.

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32
Q

Why are there two hemispheres to the brain?

A

Each hemisphere is specialised for particular behaviours.

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33
Q

Where is the cerebellum?

A

Sits beneath the back of the cerebrum.

34
Q

What is the cerebellum involved in?

A

Controlling a person’s motor skills and balance, coordinating the muscles to allow precise movements.

35
Q

What can abnormalities in the cerebellum result in?

A

A number of problems including speech and motor problems and epilepsy.

36
Q

Where is the diencephalon?

A

Lies beneath the cerebrum and on top of the brain stem.

37
Q

What two structures are in the diencephalon?

A

The thalamus and hypothalamus.

38
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

Acts as a relay station for nerve impulses from the senses, routing them to the appropriate part of the brain where they can be processed.

39
Q

What does the hypothalamus do?

A

Number of different functions including the regulation of body temperature, hunger and thirst. It also acts as the link between the endocrine system and the nervous system, controlling the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.

40
Q

What does the brain stem do?

A

Regulates the automatic functions that are essential for life including breathing, heartbeat and swallowing.

41
Q

What travels through the brain stem and what does this allow?

A

Motor and sensory neurons allowing impulses to pass between the brain and spinal cord.

42
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for things like thought and the production of speech?

A

Frontal lobe.

43
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for things like fine muscle movements?

A

Cerebellum.

44
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for things like processing sensory information?

A

Parietal lobe.

45
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for things like hearing and memory?

A

Temporal lobe.

46
Q

What part of the brain is responsible for things like processing visual information?

A

Occipital lobe.

47
Q

Which lobe is located above the brain stem and cerebellum?

A

Temporal lobe.

48
Q

Which lobe is located at the front of the brain?

A

Frontal lobe.

49
Q

Which lobe is located at the top/back of the brain?

A

Parietal lobe.

50
Q

Which lobe is located at the back of the brain?

A

Occipital lobe.

51
Q

Where are the thalamus and hypothalamus located?

A

In the diencephalon.

52
Q

What is located on top of the brain stem?

A

The diencephalon.

53
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system?

A

The part of the nervous system that is outside the brain and spinal cord.

All the nerves outside the CNS.

54
Q

What is the function of the peripheral nervous system?

A

Relay impulses from the CNS to the rest of the body and from the body back to the CNS.

55
Q

What are the 2 divisions of the peripheral nervous system?

A

Somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.

56
Q

What is the somatic nervous system made up of?

A

12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves.

57
Q

What are cranial nerves?

A

Nerves that emerge directly from the underside of the brain.

58
Q

What are spinal nerves?

A

Nerves that emerge from the spinal cord.

59
Q

What do cranial nerves and spinal nerves both have?

A

Sensory and motor neurons.

60
Q

What do sensory neurons do?

A

Carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain. They convert information from theses sensory receptors into neural impulses.

61
Q

What do motor neurons do?

A

Relay messages from the CNS to other areas of the body.

62
Q

What is the somatic nervous system involved in?

A

Reflex actions without the involvement of the CNS allowing the reflex to occur very quickly.

63
Q

What does it mean can happen if the somatic system can carry out reflexes without the involvement of the CNS?

A

Reflexes can occur very quickly.

64
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system do?

A

Governs the brain’s involuntary activities (e.g. stress and heartbeat) and is self-regulating (i.e. autonomous). It is divided into the sympathetic branch (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic branch (rest and digest).

65
Q

Why is the ANS necessary?

A

Because vital bodily functions such as heartbeat and digestion would not work so efficiently if you had to think about them.

66
Q

What are the 2 parts of the ANS?

A

Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

67
Q

Why do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems have opposite effects?

A

Because of the neurotransmitters associated with each division.
Sympathetic - uses the neurotransmitter noradrenaline.
Parasympathetic - uses the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

68
Q

What neurotransmitter does the sympathetic nervous system use and what does it do?

A

Noradrenaline - has stimulating effects.

69
Q

What neurotransmitter does the parasympathetic nervous system use and what does it do?

A

Acetylcholine - has inhibiting effects.

70
Q

What is the sympathetic nervous system primarily involved in?

A

Responses that help us deal with emergencies - fight or flight.
Such as increasing HR and BP and dilating blood vessels in the muscles.

71
Q

Where do neurons from the SNS travel and what does this do?

A

Travel to virtually every organ and gland within the body preparing to body for rapid action necessary when the individual is under threat.

72
Q

Give some effects of SNS activation on the body:

A

Increased pupil size lets more light in for better vision.

Increase in HR allows for greater blood flow to skeletal muscles.

Glycogen stored in the liver is converted to glucose for energy.

Bronchial tubes in lungs dilate for greater oxygen intake.

Sweat glands stimulated to produce more sweat.

Adrenal medulla stimulated to release adrenaline.

73
Q

What does the PNS do?

A

Relaxes an individual once the emergency (fight or flight response) has passed.

74
Q

What does the PNS cause the body to do?

A

Slows HR and reduces BP, digestion begins again.

75
Q

What is the PNS sometimes referred to as and why?

A

The body’s rest and digest system as it is involved with energy conservation and digestion.

76
Q

What does PNS stand for?

A

Parasympathetic nervous system.

77
Q

What does ANS stand for?

A

Autonomic nervous system.

78
Q

What does CNS stand for?

A

Central nervous system.

79
Q

What does SNS stand for?

A

Sympathetic nervous system.

80
Q

What is the brain?

A

The part of the CNS that is responsible for coordinating sensation, intellectual and nervous activity.

81
Q

What is the CNS?

A

Comprises the brain and the spinal cord. It receives information from the senses and controls the body’s responses.

82
Q

What is the somatic nervous system and what is it responsible for?

A

The part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from the CNS.

AS Psychology (69 decks)

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