biopsychology Flashcards
the nervous system
the central nervous system and the and the peripheral nervous system
the central nervous system
spinal cord and brain
peripheral nervous systems two main components
somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
autonomic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system
somatic nervous system
stretches throughout nearly every part of your body. The nerves in this system deliver information from your senses to your brain. They also carry commands from your brain to your muscles so you can move around
sympathetic nervous system
speeds up your heart rate, good at responding in dangerous or stressful situations ‘fight or flight’
parasympathetic nervous system
slows your heart rate, relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger ‘rest and digest’
CNS- the brain part
provides conscious awareness and is involved in all psychological processes
the brains 4 main lobes
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe
occipital lobe
processes visual information
temporal lobe
processes auditory information
parietal lobe
integrates information from the different senses and therefore plays an important role in spatial navigation- sensory information
frontal lobe
associated with higher-order functions including planing abstract reasoning and logic, voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions.
the brain stem
connects the brain and the spinal cord and controls involuntary processes including our heartbeat, breathing and consciousness
CNS-spinal cord part
transfers messages to and from the brain and the rest of the body, also responsible for simple reflex actions that do not involve the brain-taking your hand of a hot stove to prevent getting injured
brain plasiticity
refers to the brains ability to change and adapt because of experience
electrical impulse
action potential
synaptic gap
the gap between the pre-synaptic neuron and post-synaptic neuron
synaptic vesicles
located at the end of the neuron (in the axon terminal), they contain chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters
what does the peripheral nervous system do
relays messages from the CNS to the rest of the body
fight or flight first stage
a person enters a stressful/dangerous situation
fight or flight second stage
the amygdala (part of the limbic system) is activated which sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
fight or flight third stage
the hypothalamus activates the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM pathway)- the pathway running to the adrenal and the sympathetic nervous system
fight or flight forth stage
the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla, part of the adrenal gland
fight or flight fifth stage
the adrenal medulla secretes the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline into the blood stream
fight or flight sixth stage
adrenaline causes a number of physiological changes to prepare the body for fight or flight
