Biopsychology Flashcards
What is the nervous system?
A complex network of nerve cells that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal chord to different parts of the body to COMMUNICATE with each other
What are the divisions of the peripheral nervous system?
Autonomic —-> sympathetic and parasympathetic
And
Somatic
What are the four main areas of the brain called?
The cerebrum
The cerebellum
The diencephalon
The brain stem
The cerebrum-
- Largest portion of the brain
- Perception, judgement, imagination/ thought occurs here
- Divided into right and left halves (hemispheres) connected by a tightly packed mass of nerve fibres- “corpus callosum”
The cerebellum-
- The “little brain” or cerebellum helps to provide smooth, co ordinated body movement
- Inferior to cerebrum and posterior to brain stem
- Separated from cerebrum by the transverse fissure
The diencephalon-
Made up of thalamus (relay and processing centres for sensory information)
and
hypothalamus (centres controlling autonomic functions and hormone productions)
The Brain stem-
- Controls breathing, heartbeat and articulate speech
- 3 parts: Midbrain, Medulla and Pons
- Regulates blood pressure, swallowing, digestion
All of the nerves outside of the ______ make up the ______ nervous system.
CNS, Peripheral
What is the function of the PNS?
To relay nerve impulses from the CNS to the rest of the body.
The SNS-
- Made up of cranial nerves and spinal nerves
- Involved in transmission to and from the CNS
- Also involved in reflex actions
The ANS-
- Regulates involuntary actions:
Sympathetic branch INCREASES bodily activities
Parasympathetic branch MAINTAINS or DECREASES bodily activities
What are neurones?
Cells that receive information and transmit it to other cells
Name six parts of a neurone.
1) Nucleus
2) Dendrites
3) Axon
4) Cell body/ some
5) Terminal buttons
6) Action potential
The Nucleus-
Spherical DNA- containing structure
The Dendrites-
Branching extensions of a neurone which receive messages and conduct impulses
The Axon-
Tube-like structures that send signals to other neurones, muscles or organs
The Cell body/ soma-
The metabolic centre of the neurone
The terminal buttons-
Button- like endings to the Axon branches which release chemicals into the synapses.
Action potential-
The change in electrical potential associated with the passage of an impulse along the membrane
What does unipolar mean?
Only transmits towards the brain (e.g. Sensory neurone)
What is multipolar?
Capable of sending and receiving messages (e.g. Relay and motor neurones)
What is muscle relaxation caused by?
The inhibition of the motor neurone
