Biopsychology Flashcards
What are exogenous zeitgebers?
they are environmental cues which regulate body clocks
What are the examples of exogenous zeitgebers?
light
social cues
How is light an example of an exogenous zeitgebers?
- receptors in the SCN are sensitive to change in light levels
- and the uses this info to synchronise the activity of the body organs and glands
What does the zeitgebers do?
resets the body’s internal body clocks every 24 hours
What are endogenous pacemakers?
internal
What are the examples of endogenous pacemakers?
pineal gland
SCN
How is SCN an example of an endogenous pacemakers?
controls sleep/wake cycle (circadian rhythm)
has control over body clocks
neurons in SCN synchronise together, so that they target neurons in sites of the body which receive time-coordinated signals
How is pineal gland an example of an endogenous pacemakers?
SCN sends signals to the pineal gland
which then increases the production of melatonin at night and then decrease in the morning
melatonin makes you fall asleep as it inhibit brain mechanisms that promote being awake
What is an circadian rhythm?
24 hours (one day)
What is an infradian rhythm?
more than one day
What is an ultradian rhythm?
under a day
Draw the nervous system
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What does the spinal cord do?
relays information between the brain and the rest of the body
What does the brain do?
has four areas - cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon and brainstem
What is the somatic nervous system?
responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from the central nervous system
What is the autonomic nervous system?
controls involuntary actions
What are the 2 things which make up the central nervous system?
spinal cord
brain
What are 4 things which make up the peripheral nervous system?
somatic nervous system
autonomic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system
parasympathetic nervous system
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
helps up deal with emergencies - fight or flight - it increases heart rate etc.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
relaxes the body after the emergency - slows heart rate back down etc.
Draw the structure of a neuron
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What are the 3 types of neurons?
motor
relay
sensory
What are sensory neurons?
carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and the brain
What are relay neurons?
allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate with each other
What are motor neurons?
located in the CNS, form synapses and release neurotransmitters that trigger a response from muscles