BIOPSYCHOLOGY

Question 1

What two parts is the nervous system divided into?

Answer 1

• Central nervous system
• Peripheral nervous system

Question 2

What is the central nervous system divided into?

Answer 2

• Brain
• Spinal cord

Question 3

What is the central nervous system?

Answer 3

• Comprises the brain and spinal cord
• Receives information from the senses and controls the body’s responses

Question 4

What is the brain?

Answer 4

• Part of the central nervous system that is responsible for coordinating sensation, intellectual and nervous activity
• Regulates body temperature, breathing and heart rate

Question 5

What is the spinal cord?

Answer 5

• Bundle of nerve fibres enclosed within the spinal column and which connects nearly all parts of the body with the brain
• Ensures that signals from the brain are transmitted to the rest of the body via the PNS

Question 6

What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

Answer 6

• Part of the nervous system that is outside the brain and spinal cord
• Transmits messages throughout the whole body from the brain and also relays messages back to the brain

Question 7

What is the peripheral nervous system divided into?

Answer 7

• Somatic nervous system
• Autonomic nervous system

Question 8

What is the somatic nervous system?

Answer 8

• Responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from the CNS
• Controls voluntary movements + processes

Question 9

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 9

• Governs the brain’s involuntary activities (e.g. stress + heartbeat) + is self-regulating
• Transmits and receives information from organs

Question 10

What is the autonomic nervous system divided into?

Answer 10

• Sympathetic nervous system
• Parasympathetic nervous system

Question 11

What is the sympathetic nervous system?

Answer 11

• Associated with the ‘fight or flight’ response
• Prepares the body for physical activity (e.g. running away of fighting)
  ^— increases heart rate + blood pressure

Question 12

What is the parasympathetic nervous system?

Answer 12

• Relaxes the individual once the emergency has passed
  ^— a.k.a. ‘Rest and digest’ system
• Regulates bodily functions like digestion + urination

Question 13

What is meant by the sensory neuron?

Answer 13

• Carries nerve impulses from sensory receptors (e.g. taste, vision, touch) to the spinal cord + the brain

Question 14

What is meant by the relay neuron?

Answer 14

• Most common type of neuron in CNA
• Allow sensory + motor neurons to communicate with each other

Question 15

What is meant by the motor neuron?

Answer 15

• Form synapses with muscles _ control their contractions

Question 16

Define synaptic transmission

Answer 16

• Refers to the process by which a nerve impulse passes across the synaptic cleft from one neuron (presynaptic neuron) to another (postsynaptic neuron)

Question 17

What is an action potential?

Answer 17

• Neurons must transmit info both within the neuron + from one neuron to the next
• The dendrites of neurons receive information from sensory receptors or other neurons
• This info is then passed down to the cell body + on to the axon
• Once the information has arrived at the axon, it travels down its length in the form of an electrical signal known as an action potential

Question 18

Explain the nature of synaptic transmission

Answer 18

• Action potential arrives at the terminal button at the end of the axon + needs to be transferred to another neuron or to tissue
  ^— must cross a gap between the presynaptic neuron and the postsynaptic neuron (called the synapse)
• Vesicles at the end of the axon of the nerve cell (synaptic vesicles) contain chemical messengers that assist in the transfer of the impulse (neurotransmitters)
• Action potential reaches synaptic vesicles —> causes them to release their contents through exocytosis
• Released neurotransmitter diffuses across synaptic gap + binds to specialised receptors on the surface of the cell that recognised + are activated by that neurotransmitter
• Once activated, receptor molecules produce excitatory or inhibitory effects

Question 19

Explain what is meant by excitation

Answer 19

• Neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory
• Excitatory neurotransmitters increase the likelihood that in excitatory signal is sent to the postsynaptic cell, which is then more likely to fire

Question 20

Explain what is meant by inhibition

Answer 20

• Neurotransmitters are either excitatory or inhibitory
• Inhibitory neurotransmitters decrease the likelihood of that neuron firing
• Responsible for calming the mind + body, inducing sleep

Question 21

Explain the role of excitatory neurotransmitters

Answer 21

• An excitatory neurotransmitter binding with a postsynaptic receptor causes an electrical change in the membrane of that cell
  ^— results in a excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)
  ^— means that postsynaptic cell is more likely to fire

Question 22

Explain the role of inhibitory neurotransmitters

Answer 22

• An inhibitory neurotransmitter binds with a postsynaptic receptor
  ^— results in an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
  ^— makes it less likely that the cell will fire

Question 23

How can

Question 24

What is the endocrine system?

Answer 24

A network of glands throughout the body that manufacture + secrete chemical messengers (hormones)

Question 25

Outline the functions of the endocrine system

Answer 25

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