Biopsychology divison of nervous system Flashcards
the division of the nervous system
what is the definition of the nervous system?
The nervous system transmits electrical impulses from one part of the body to another using individual nerve cells know as neurons
what does the nervous system consist of ?
the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system
what does the central nervous system consist of ?
The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord
what is the central nervous systems two main functions?
- the control of behaviour
- the regulation of the body’s physiological processes
to do this the brain must be able to receive impulses from the senses and send them to the muscles and glands of the body
What is the function of the brain?
-its involved in psychological processes
- Its main job is to ensure life is maintained
- There are many parts of the brain, some of which are concerned with vital functioning.
- Other parts are involved in higher order thinking like problem solving and planning.
What is the function of the spinal cord ?
-transfers electrical impulses between the brain and the peripheral nervous system
-to allow brain to monitor and regulate bodily processes like digestion and breathing.
- the spinal cord is connected to different parts of the body by pairs of spinal nerves that connect to muscles and glands.
- the spinal cord contains circuits of nerve cells that enable us to perform simple reflex’s without using the brain e.g pulling hand away from something hot
- It passes messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the peripheral nervous system.
What is the peripheral nervous system
sends information to the central nervous system from the outside world and transmits messages from the central nervous system to muscles and glands in the body.
What are the two subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system?
- somantic nervous system SNS
2.Autonomic nervous system ANS
What is the function of the somantic nervous system ?
- Transmits information from the receptor cells in the sense organs to the CNS.It also receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act.
- The SNS recieves impulses from the senses e.g Visual information from the eye or auditory information from the ears.
- It also directs muscles to react and move
What is the somantic nervous system made up of?
- It is made up of 12 pairs of cranial nerves(nerves that emerge from the underside of the brain) and 31 pairs of spinal nerves( nerves that emerge from the spinal cord)
- These nerves have sensory neurons and relay neurons.
What is the function of the autonomic nervous system?
- It is responsible for your unconscious bodily functions e.g breathing and digestion.
- it transmits and recieves impulses from the organs and is divided into the two systems within the ANS.
What are the two subdivided systems in the autonomic nervous system?
1.The sympathetic nervous system
2.The parasympathetic nervous system
What is the function for the sympathetic nervous system?
- It coordinates organs when in the fight or flight mode when our muscles need energy and oxygen.
- the sympathetic nervous system signals our heart and lungs to work harder and our liver to release glucose.
What is the function of the parasympathetic nervous system?
- This coordinates our organs when we can relax and conserve energy. This happens after fight or flight mode when our body knows we are safe.
- It promotes digestion and slows our heart and breathing.
What are some effects that the sympathetic nervous system can have on organs in our body?
eyes- dilates pupils
lungs- dilates bronchi to increase oxygen intake
heart- increases heart rate
gut- blocks activity so no digestion
