biopsych Flashcards
nervous system parts
CNS: brain and spinal cord
Peripheral NS: Autonomic NS and Somatic NS
Autonomic NS: sympathetic NS parasympathetic NS
Nervous system proper definition
a specialised network of neutrons with 2 functions
collect process and respond to info in the environment
coordinate the working of different organs/cells in the body
CNS - parts and function
Brain and spinal cord
general processing of information, responding to sensory information
peripheral ns - function and parts
function is to transmit messages through neurons to and from CNS and from there to glands/muscles
parts: autonomic ns and somatic ns
somatic ns function
transmits info from sensory neurons to CNS and transmits info from CNS to muscles to act
controls CONSCIOUS decisions: run/eat
s/c- conscious
autonomic ns function
Transmits messages to/from bodily organs through motor neurons
Controls unconscious decisions: breathing, heart
AUTOnomic, AUTOmatic decisions
autonomic parts and those functions
autonomic ns is unconscious processes, aka digestion, breathing…
therefore unconscious decisions are either
1: sympathetic NS: fight/flight system (brain is sympathising with body)
2: Parasympathetic NS: when the body is in a calm state.
fight / flight other name and the symptoms of when it is activated
increased heart rate; speed up blood flow to vital organs to improve spread of adrenaline ( released by adrenal glands )
faster breathing rate to increase o2 intake to respire more
production of sweat to facilitate temp regulation because youre not working at the optimal temperature
Decreased saliva production ( digestion is not priority)
increase muscles tensions to improve reaction time and speed
pupil dilation to improve vision as more light is taken in
endocrine system function
to regulate cell/organ activity and control processes in the body.
hormones are released from glands into bloodstream.
gland definition
hormone definition
Gland - organ that secretes hormones
- hormones are long term, and slower acting but have same effects ( in comparison to nervous system )
master gland name and function
Pituitary gland - releases hormones that regulate endocrine systems. Basically organises other glands ‘master gland’
(5) Examples of glands and their functions TOPAT
Testes - testosterone released for secondary sexual characteristics in teenagers
Ovaries - oestrogen and progesterone
Pituitary gland - releases hormones that regulate endocrine systems. Basically organises other glands ‘master gland’
Adrenal gland - releases adrenaline ( fight/flight )
Thyroid gland - releases thyroxine, affecting cells in heart increasing the heart rate, also metabolism and therefore the growth rate.
process of adrenaline in the body when fight/flight is activated
hypothalamus recognises the threat
Sends a message to pituitary gland
Which sends a message to the adrenal gland ( adrenal medulla )
Therefore triggering release of adrenaline into the bloodstream.
NEURONS - what are they, name the parts
( cells that make up nerves )
dendrite
axon
myelin sheath
schwann cells
nodes of ranvier
what do dendrites, axons and myelin sheath do
- Dendrite - carry impulses from neighbouring neurons.
- Axon - communicate with next neuron. Protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmission.
- Myelin sheath - fatty layer around neuron to speed up communication, helps impulses travel faster. Wraps around axon
what do schwann cells and nodes do
- Schwann cells - make up the myelin sheath.
- Nodes of ranvier - gaps between Schwann cells
ways to differentiate between sensory, relay and motor cell drawings
Motor - connected to muscle at bottom
Sensory - centre has cell body
Relay - doesnt have myelin sheath cause its so small that it doesnt need one.
5 steps in the reflex arc
- stimulus detected in a gland/muscle
- signal sent along sensory neuron
- passed along relay neurone
- then sent to cns and then along motor neuron
- back to effector which creates response
synaptic transmission - four steps
it is the way neurons communicate with one another
- Electrical impulse reaches end of presynaptic neuron
- This causes neurotransmitters to be released from tiny sacs in the pre synaptic terminal called synaptic vessicles. ( fuse with pre synaptic neuron)
- The neurotransmitters diffuses across the gap, and connects to post synaptic receptors.
- Chemical message is converted back to electrical impulse. There is now a new nervous impulse in post synaptic membrane.
what is summation and the two effects that influence it
Summation: whether a neuron is able to meet its threshold and fire towards the next neuron.
Excitatory effect - makes the next neuron more likely to fire ( serotonin )
Inhibitory effect - makes the next neuron less likely to fire
BRAIN: PARTS, LOBES AND AREAS IN LOBES
cerebellum
brain stem
frontal lobe - Broca’s area (frontal lobe) - responsible for producing speech
Motor area ( back frontal lobe) - movement
parietal lobe - Somatosensory area ( processing sensory info)
occipital lobe - vision area
temporal lobe - Wernickes area ( back of temporal lobe ) - responsible for understanding speech
Auditory area ( temporal lobe) - responsible for hearing
4 ways of examining the brain
- post mortem exams
2.fMRI - functional magnetic resonance imaging - EEG
- ERP
what are post mortem exams
pros/cons
-analysis of brain after they die done usually on people with rare disorders to understand cause of that and in comparison to a healthy brain
PROS
- post mortem analyses have proven basis of most our understanding, making them reliable on some level
Wernicke and Broca used post mortem to identify the language parts
Post mortems allow for development of medical knowledge.
Only way of examination that allows for neurochemical analysis.
CONS
problem of causation, cause and effect. The damage might’ve been done after death instead of causing the death or it could’ve been a result of something else.
You assume when performing post mortems that any irregularities are the casue of abnormal behaviour but this cannot be tested or confirmed.
fMRI: what is it and pros/cons
functional magnetic resonance imaging
. When area of a brain is activated, it consumes more oxygen for more respiration, leading to an increased level of blood flow in that area.
It produces a 3d image different to just an x ray
Helps to identify particular areas of brain associated with difference scans
pros
risk free
Doesnt rely on radiation ( PET SCAN: uses the injection of radioactive glucose into the blood )
Non invasive technique, unlike PET
Ethically safe and straightforward procedure with valuable outcomes.
cons
has poor temporal resolution ( how accurate it pinpoints to nearest second)
fmri is expensive
cant be certain of causation
c
EEG: what is it and pros/cons
Electroencephalogram -Measures electrical activity within the brain through electrodes placed on a persons scalp or skull cap
Output represents the brainwave patterns that are generated from electrical activity
EEGS are used to diagnose disorders with unusual brainwave patterns such as epilepsy or sleep disorders.
Show a general state of brain whereas ERPS show something specific ( remove background noise)
nearest cluster of neurons
pros
highest temporal resolution
cons
comparative points for studying the brain
SICSTERS
Spatial resolution
Invasiveness - how likely people are to take part. ( linking to sample size )
Causation - show what caused the irregularitiy, post mortem is probably the worst one.
Temporal resolution - how fast it can identify an image /movement in the brain ( best = ERP and EEG )
Expense - link to how it reduces the sample size.
Risk - metal cannot be in fMRI scans, so people with operations or plates or screws.
Sample size/ -
Static vs Dynamic - post mortem is static, one image. Dynamic would be fMRI/EEG/ERP casue they show movement
Hemispheric lateralisation
idea that hemispheres ( sides of brains ) are functionally different
left for logic and right was creative
contra lateral
left hemisphere controls right side of body and righ hemisphere controls left side of your body.
plasticity
the brain changing and adapting as a result of experiences or learning ( very common in childhood)
peaks at 15k synaptic connections at age 2-3
but brain gets less plastic with age
( biggest argument against localisation )