biopsych Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

what is the nervous system divided into

A

central nervous system
peripheral nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is the function of the peripheral nervous system

A

sends messages to and from the CNS via neurons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what does the peripheral nervous system consist of

A

autonomic nervous system
somatic nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is the function of the autonomic nervous system

A

-responsible for involuntary responses for vital functions e.g breathing
-controls smooth and cardiac muscles and glands
-control centres are in the brain stem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is the function of the somatic nervous system

A

-responsible for voluntary movement e.g walking
-transmits information from brain to control skeletal muscles
-carries commands from the motor cortex
-connects CBS and the senses and integrates the brain with the outside world

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what does the CNS consist of

A

brain and spinal cord

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what is the function of the brain

A

-receives and processes information from the senses e.g visual cortex processes visual info
-centre of conscious awareness
-responsible for higher mental functions
-generates emotions and thoughts
-initiates responses
-stores memories

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what is the function of the spinal cord

A

-conducts signals to and from the brain
-connects nerves to the PNS
-controls reflex actions e.g removing a hand from a hot kettle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is the autonomic nervous system divided into

A

sympathetic branch
parasympathetic branch

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is the function of the sympathetic branch

A

flight or fight response

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is the function of the parasympathetic branch

A

conserve and restore body energy when relaxed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

cell body

A

includes the nucleus which contains the genetic material of the cell

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

myelin sheath

A

protects the axon and helps to speed up transmission

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

terminal button

A

the end of the neutron and they send information through to the next neutron, through the release of neurotransmitters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

dendrites

A

where neurotransmitters are found, once the receptors and neurotransmitters bind, this causes a new electrical impulse to occur

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

nodes of ranvier

A

speeds up the transmission of the impulse by forcing it to ‘jump’ across the gaps along the axon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

axon

A

sends a nerve impulse through the neutron to transmit a message to the next neuron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

where is the sensory neuron located

A

in the PNS in clusters known as ganglia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is the function of the sensory neuron

A

-send information from the senses to the brain
-receptors found in eyes, ears and skin

20
Q

what is the structure of sensory neurons

A

long dendrites and short axons

21
Q

where is the relay neuron located

A

in the brain and visual system

22
Q

what is the function of a relay neuron

A

-found in CNS and carry nerve impulse between neurons allowing sensory and motor neurons to communicate
-involved in analysing sensations and deciding how to respond

23
Q

what is the structure of a relay neuron

A

short dendrites and short axons with no myelin sheath

24
Q

where is the motor neuron located

A

cell bodies are found in the CNS but long axons form part of the PNS

25
Q

what is the function of the motor neuron

A

send information via long axons from the CNS through to effectors such as muscles and glands

26
Q

what is the structure of a motor neuron

A

short dendrites and long axons

27
Q

what is a neurotransmitter

A

chemical messengers within the brain

28
Q

what is the function of a neurotransmitter

A

to transmit information from one neuron to another so that a person performs an actions e.g movement or has an emotional response

29
Q

process of synaptic transmission

A

-begins in the presynaptic neuron, action potentials are sent down the axon until they reach the presynaptic terminal
-this causes the neurotransmitters which are stored in vesicles and are only located in the presynaptic neuron to be released into synaptic cleft
-neurotransmitters diffuse across the synapse and bind to specific receptor sites that are only present on the postsynaptic neuron
-once enough neurotransmitters have attached to the receptor sites on the post synaptic neuron, there are two possible outcomes:

-next neuron is ready to fire an impulse, depending on whether the neurotransmitter has an excitatory or inhibitory effect

-neurotransmitters are recycled to be stored back into vesicles in the presynaptic neuron (reuptake)

30
Q

excitatory neurotransmitter

A

e.g adrenaline
-when the excitatory neurotransmitter binds to the post synaptic receptors the post synaptic fell becomes positively charged
-this will make it more likely that the post synaptic cell with fire so an impulse will travel down its axon
-this increases the brain activity in the CNS

31
Q

inhibitory neurotransmitter

A

e.g seretonin
-when the inhibitory neurotransmitter binds to the post synaptic receptors the post synaptic cell becomes negatively charged
-this prevents or reduces the likelihood that the post synaptic cell will fire
-this decreases brain activity in the CNS

32
Q

summation

A

-occurs when the excitatory and inhibitory influences are added together
-if the overall effect is mainly inhibitory it reduces the likelihood that the neuron will fire an impulse down the post synaptic neuron
-if it’s mainly excitatory the impulse will fire an impulse down the post synaptic neuron

33
Q

function of the endocrine system

A

-endocrine system provides a chemical system of communication within the blood stream to regulate the activity of cells and organs in the body
-it is slower than the nervous system but its effects are more widespread and powerful
-these chemical messangers are hormones which are released by the glands within the endocrine system to regulate many bodily functions

34
Q

pineal gland

A

secretes melatonin which is involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle by making the person feel tired and therefore ready to sleep

35
Q

adrenal gland

A

releases adrenaline which causes psychological changes involved in the flight or fight response such as increased blood flow to transport oxygen to brain for rapid response planning

36
Q

ovaries

A

anterior pituitary gland releases LH/FSH which encourages the ovaries to release oestrogen and progesterone, which regulate the female menstrual cycle and prepares the body for reproduction

37
Q

testes

A

anterior pituitary gland releases LH/FSH which encourages the testicles to release testosterone which is involved in creating male characteristics and in the production of sperm

38
Q

direct effect of adrenaline

A

increased heart rate, increasing the rate of blood flow and blood pressure.
this increases blood flow to the brain and skeletal muscles

39
Q

flight or fight response

A

1: a stressor is identified by the hypothalamus and activates the pituitary gland which triggers activity in the sympathetic branch in ANS
2: adrenaline is released by the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream
3: the fight or flight response is produced, produces psychological reactions e.g increased heart rate, increases blood pressure, increased respiration, decreased digestion
4: the parasympathetic branch returns the body back to normal once the stressor has been removed e.g homeostasis

40
Q

direct effect of adrenaline

A

-increase heart rate, increasing the rate of blood flow and blood pressure
-this increases blood flow to the brain and skeletal muscles

41
Q

indirect effect of adrenaline

A

-prepares body for action such a fight or flight
-increase blood supply to skeletal muscles for physical action e.g stops digestion and saliva production
-increase oxygen to brain for rapid response planning

42
Q

fight or flight response ao3

A

-does not explain the stress response in females e.g tend and befriend, this suggests gender bias

-human behaviour is not limited to 2 responses e.g freeze, this suggests that the flight or fight response doesn’t consider other factors such as thought processes

43
Q

localisation of function

A

specific areas of the brain are specialised for certain functions e.g motor cortex is responsible for voluntary movement

44
Q

hemispheric lateralisation

A

-the brain is spilt into 2 symmetrical halves- left and right hemisphere
-different hemispheres are responsible for different mental processes
e.g left hemisphere is responsible for language

45
Q

holistic theory

A

before investigations into localisation and lateralisation, scientists believed all parts of the brain worked together when processing information

46
Q

broca’s area

A

-involved in production of spoken and written language
-damage to this area produces Brocas aphasia where a person shows slow speech and lacks fluency in speech

47
Q

auditory cortex

A

-area is associated with analysing speech based information e.g. hearing
pitch and volume
-damage produces partial/full hearing loss