Biopsychology Flashcards
what is the nervous system?
Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. It communicates using electrical and chemical
signals.
function of the brain ?
• Centre of all conscious awareness
• brains outer layer, the cerebral cortex is only 3mm thick + covers the brain
• Dided into two hemispheres
• receives signals from senses
four main regions of the brain…
Occipital lobe- processes visual information
•Temporal lobe processes auditory information
• •Parietal lobe integrates information from the different senses and plays an important role in spatial navigation
•Frontal lobe is associated with higher-order functions, including: planning, abstract reasoning and logic
what is the nervous system divided into
CNS
PNS
what is the PNS (peripheral nervous system) further divided into
• somatic nervous system
• autonomic nervous system
what is the autonomic nervous system further divided into?
sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic
define each one:
• somatic ns
• autonomic ns
• sympathetic ns
• parasympathetic ns
Somatic nervous system:
• sensory receptars carry information to the spinal chord and brain
• motor pathways which allow the brain to control movement
• voluntary actions occurs
• connects to external senses (touch, sight etc).
in the sympathetic nervous system what happens to each organ?
- gut
- salivary gland
- heart
- liver
- bladder
- eye
- lungs
gut = decreased digestion
- salivary gland = inhibits saliva production
- heart = increases heart rate
- liver = stimulates glucose production
- bladder = increased urination
- eye = dilate pupils
- lungs = dilates bronchi
what happens to each organ in the parasympathetic nervous system?
- gut
- salivary gland
- heart
- liver
- bladder
- eye
- lungs
- gut = increase digestion
- salivary gland = stimulates saliva production
- heart = decrease heart rate
- liver = stimulates bile production
- bladder = decrease urination
- eye = constricts pupils
- lungs = constricts bronchi
in terms of the nervous system what is an example if homeostasis
the sympathetic ns and parasympathetic ns work together to maintain the body at an optimum level of functioning
explain the flight or fight response?
activates the adrenal medulla
-
release of adrenaline & noradrenaline
-
body ready for fight or flight
-
body returns to normal
-
parasympathetic activated (PNS)
-
whats a neuron?
nerve cell that send a message all over your body to allow you to do everything from breathing to walking
what does each type of neuron do?
- sensory
- relay
- motor
carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal chord or brain
allow sensory and motor neurones to communicate with each other, lie within the brain and spinal chord
located in the PNS, form synapses with muscles and control their contractions, release neurotransmitters that bind to muscles and trigger a movement
what does the endocrine system use to deliver hormones to their targets?
uses blood vessels to deliver hormones to their target sites
what are hormones
chemical messengers
which cells do hormones affect?
affect target cells - they have receptors for only that hormone
enough receptor sites stimulated -> physiological reaction
what hormone is produced for the pituitary gland and the effect?
master gland
- controls hormone secretion in other glands
what hormone is produced by the adrenal gland and the effect?
adrenal cortex - cortisol - regulates cardiovascular and anti inflammatory functions
adrenal medulla - epinephrine and non epinephrine - prepares the body for fight or flight response
what hormone is produced in the overies and effect?
oestrogen - regulates female secondary sex characteristics & maintains growth of uterus lining
which hormone is produced by the testes and its effect?
testosterone - regulates male secondary sex characteristics
what hormones is produced by the thyroid and its effect?
thyroxine - effects the heart rate and metabolism rate
what hormone is produced by the pancreas and its effect?
insulin and glucagon - stimulates release and absorption of glucose
what hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and the effect?!
CRF, dopamine - controls the functioning of the pituitary gland
what hormone is released by the pineal gland and effect?
melatonin - affects the sleep/ wake cycle
outline the process of synaptic transmission? (6 steps)
• an electrical impulse travels along the axon of the presynaptic neuron
• triggers the nerve ending to release chemical messengers (neuro transmitters) from vesicles in nerve cell
• diffuse across the synapse gap
• bind with receptors on membrane of next neurone
• stimulates the post synaptic neuron to transmit and elec impulse
• neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the vesicle of the presynaptic neuron or are broken down chemically by enzymes in synapse
what is the process and an
example of excitatory neurotransmitters?
eg. noradrenaline
- on switches, increase likelihood of an excitatory signal being sent to the post synaptic cell
what is the process and an
example of inhibitory neurotransmitters?
eg. seratonin, GABA
- off switches, decrease likelihood of neurons firing
out of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, which id depolarisation and which is hyper-polarisation?
excite - de polar
inhibit - hyper polar
what is summation?
• excitatory and inhibatory imfluences are summed
• if net effect on the post synaptic neurons is inhabitory, neuron less
• if net effect is excitatory the neurons is more likely to fire
function of the spinal chord?
• An extenson of the brain, passing messages to and from the brain
• connects nerves to the PNS
• responsible for reflex actions (eg pull hand away from hot plate).
where is the motor cortex located??
at the back of the frontal lobe in both hemispheres
where is the somatosensory cortex located??
at the front of the parietal lobe in both hemispheres
where is the visual centre located?
in the occipital lobe (back) in both hemispheres
where is the auditory cortex located?
in the front of the temporal lobe in both hemispheres
where is broca’s area located?
in the bottom/ back of the frontal lobe in the LEFT hemispheres
where is Wernike’s area located?
the top back of the temporal lobe in the LEFT hemisphere
what is the corpus callosum?
conects the left and right side
of the brain + allows for them to communicate between them
what is localisation of function?
the theory that specific areas are specialised for specific functions
what is the function of the motor cortex? damage?
involved in the planning, processing and execution of voluntary muscle movement
damage = loss of control / paralysis on the opposite side of the body to the side of the brain damage (L to R)
what is the function of the somatosensory cortex?
involved in the detection and processing of sensory information from the outside environment
eg. temp, touch, pain, pressure
whats the function of the visual cortex?? damage??
involved in processing visual information from the eyes
• Shape, colour, movement.
- damage to the L hemisphere = blindness in right eye etc.
where is the auditory centre function? and damage?
involved in processing auditory information from ears: pitch, volume tempo
damage to L hemisphere loss in R ear
• more extensive damage = more serious hearing loss.
Broca’s area function? damage?
- speech production
- damage to area = Brocas/ expressive aphasia
Wernike’s area function? damage?
language understanding/ comprehension
- damage is Wernike’s aphasia = cant understand meaning of language
- produce fluent but meaningless speech
what is hemispheric lateralisation?
two halves of the brain are functionally different with each half having different specific functions