Biopsychology

Question 1

What is the function of the Nervous system?

Answer 1

To collect information from inside the body and the environment around it and then dispatching instructions to the rest of the body, facilitating an appropriate response

Question 2

What are the two parts of the nervous system?

Answer 2

Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System

Question 3

What are the parts of the central nervous system?

Answer 3

The brain and spinal cord

Question 4

What is the function of the brain?

Answer 4

The brain provides conscious awareness and controls behaviour and regulation of the body’s physiological process.
It also includes receiving sensory information from around the body. This also requires the sending of signals (instructions) to the muscles and the glands of the body

Question 5

What is the function of the spinal cord?

Answer 5

It runs the length of the spinal column and relays information to the brain and body

Question 6

What is the function of the Peripheral Nervous System?

Answer 6

It receives information from the senses and sends it to the CNS via sensory neurons and transmits information from the CNS to the muscles and glands (effects via motor neurons)

Question 7

What are the two parts of the Peripheral Nervous System?

Answer 7

Somatic Nervous System and Autonomous Nervous System

Question 8

What is the function for the Somatic Nervous System?

Answer 8

It facilitates information between the outside world and the CNS using the sensory neurons to send information from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain to provide muscle responses via the motor pathways which allow the brain to control movement.

Question 9

What is the function of the Autonomous Nervous System?

Answer 9

It is responsible for vital internal functions such as heartbeat, breathing and digestion, i.e automatic and involuntary operations. It transmits information from and to the internal body organs such as the liver and the lungs.

Question 10

What are the two parts of the Autonomous Nervous System?

Answer 10

The Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Sytems

Question 11

What are the functions of the Parasympathetic and Sympathetic Nervous Systems?

Answer 11

The Sympathetic Nervous System stimulates biological functions and necessary bodily changes which prepares the body for a fight-or-flight response because we need to escape or defend ourselves. The Parasympathetic Nervous System slows biological functions and is involved in recovering the body from as fight-or-flight response which relaxes body when the threatening situation is over. Their actions are mostly antagonistic (working in opposition). They interact to create homeostasis.

Question 12

Name fives bodily changes involved in the stimulation of and recovery from the fight-or-flight response and a reason

Answer 12

1. Heart; increases/decreases heart rate (to pump more blood around the body)
2. Lungs: dilates/constricts bronchi (to increase oxygen intake so we are less likely to run out of breath)
3. Eye: dilates/constricts pupils (to let more light in)
4. Gut: slows/speeds up digestion (to use energy)
5. Liver: stimulate glucose production/stimulates bile production (for more energy)

Question 13

What is the function of the amygdala and where is it located?

Answer 13

It is stored deep in the brain and alerts the hypothalamus to threats

Question 14

What is the function of the hypothalamus?

Answer 14

The hypothalamus activates the SAM (Sympathomedullary) pathway which directs the brain to the Sympathetic branch of the Autonomous Nervous System

Question 15

What does the presence of adrenaline do?

Answer 15

It causes the breakdown of stored energy in the form of glycogen into readily accessible glucose

Question 16

Outline the fight-or-flight response

Answer 16

Person enters a dangerous situation
The amygdala is activates which sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
The hypothalamus activates the SAM Pathway, which is the route through which the brain is directed the Sympathetic branch of the Autonomous system
This stiumates the Adrenal Medulla (part of the Adrenal gland) to secrete the hormones adrenaline and noradrenalin intothe bloodstream
Adrenaline causes a number of physiological changes to prepare the body for fight-or-flight response
The presence of adrenaline causes glycogenolysis: the breakdown of glycogen into accessible glucose for energy

Question 17

What are three evaluation points for the fight-or-flight response?

Answer 17

Previous research on the fight-or-flight response may be gender biased
Due to the presence of high numbers of modern day stressors, the fight-or-flight response can have negative consequences
There may be more reactions to stress than the fight-or-flight response

Question 18

What is the function of the Endocrine system?

Answer 18

It works alongside the Nervous system to control vital function in the body by secreting hormones that regulate many bodily functions such as reproduction and metabolism

Question 19

What are hormones?

Answer 19

Chemical messengers

Question 20

What are Endocrine glands?

Answer 20

They are organs that produce and secrete hormones that regulate the activity of cells and other organs

Question 21

Name six endocrine glands, hormones and their effects

Answer 21

Hypothalamus: Releasing Hormone; stimulates the pituitary glands
Pituitary Gland: Activating Hormone; stimulates the release of other glands
Thyroid Gland: Thyroxine; controls the metabolism rate
Adrenal Gland (Adrenal Medulla): Adrenaline; triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response
Ovaries: Oestrogen; changes in puberty, regulation of the female reproductive system an the menstrual cycle; Progesterone: development of new blood cells in preparation for pregnancy
Testes: Testorone; development of male, sex characteristics during puberty

Question 22

Outline regular pathway of tropic hormones

Answer 22

The glands, which do not constantly secrete hormones, rely on the presence or the absence of hormones in the blood to turn off and on their secretions.
If there is not enough hormones circulating in the blood, the hypothalamus releases the activating hormone which stimulates the pituitary gland to release the stimulating hormone.
This stimulates the release of a hormone in the target gland which increases the blood hormone levels.
If there is too much of a hormone in the bloodstream, the feedback inhibits the release of the activating hormone to lower blood hormone levels.

Question 23

What are the functions of neurons?

Answer 23

They are the cells of the nervous systems that transmit signals chemically and electrically and providing the nervous systems with a means of communication

Question 24

Name the six parts of a neuron and their functions

Answer 24

Dendrites; connects to other neurons to carry electrical impulses towards the cell body
Nucleus; site for protein synthesis
Soma; the cell body; maintains the neurons structure and provides energy
Axon; an extension of the neuron that carries the impulses away from the cell body
Myelin sheath; a fatty substance which increases the speed at which the electrical impulses travel in
Nodes of Ranvier; breaks of between 0.2mm and 2mm over through which the action potentials jump from node to node to speed up the rate of transmission
Terminal button; connect to other neurons to chemically transfer action potentials

Question 25

What is a sensory neuron and some of its features?

Answer 25

A sensory neuron facilitates communication between the senses and the CNS.
It has long dendrites and is found in the SNS and the ANS

Question 26

What is a relay neuron and some of its features?

Answer 26

A relay neuron passes information between neurons or specifically the sensory and motor neuron.
It has many dendrites and is only found in the CNS

Question 27

What is a motor neurone and some of its features?

Answer 27

It facilitates communication between the CNS and a target effector.
It has a particularly long axon which send movement signals to the muscles and it mainly found in the ANS

Question 28

What is the reflex arc?

Answer 28

It is a special type of circuit that begins with the sensory neuron at a receptor and ends at the motor neuron at an effector while involving the CNS instead of the brain

Question 29

Name seven parts of a synapse and neuron that are part of the synaptic transmission

Answer 29

Axon, Neurotransmitters, Synaptic Vesicle, Neurotransmitter re-uptake pump, Synaptic cleft, Receptor sites, Dendrites

Question 30

Outline the stages of synaptic transmission

Answer 30

Information is passed down the axon of the pre-synaptic neuron in an electrical impulse known as action potentials.
Once the action potential reached the end of the neuron, it needs to be carried to another neuron by crossing over a synapse.
At the end of the neuron are vesicles which contain the chemical messages known as neurotransmitters.
When the vesicles reach the neuron membrane, they fuse with it and release their contents of neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic gap.
They attach to receptor sites on the post-synaptic neuron dendrites that then become activated.
Once the receptors have been transmitted, they either produce excitatory or inhibitory effects on the post-synaptic cell. Whether the post-synaptic neuron fires will depend on the summation of these effects.