Biopsychology- The Nervous System Flashcards
What is biopsychology about?
How biology influences behaviour
What does biopsychology study?
Nervous system, neurotransmitters and hormones
What is the role of the nervous system?
Allows you to respond to changes in your environment and allows you to coordinate your actions
What do receptors do?
Detect stimuli
What do effectors do?
Brings about a response to a stimulus
What are effectors?
Muscle cells and cells found in glands
How do receptors communicate with effectors?
Via the nervous and/or endocrine systems
What are the two parts to the nervous system?
Central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS)
What is the central nervous system made up of?
The brain and the spinal cord
What is the peripheral nervous system made up of?
The neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
What are the two parts to the PNS?
Autonomic (ANS) and somatic (SNS)
What is the role of the somatic nervous system?
To control conscious activities
What is the role of the autonomic nervous system?
Controls unconscious activities
What are the two parts to the ANS?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic
What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system?
To get the body ready for action
What is the role of the parasympathetic nervous system?
To calm the body down
What is the role of neurons?
To transmit information as electrical impulses around the body
What does the cell body have?
Dendrites that receive information from other neurons
How does information pass within the neuron?
Along the axon in the form of an electrical impulse that ends up at the synaptic knob
What is the role of the myelin sheath?
Insulates the axon to speed up nervous transmission
What is the synapse?
A small gap before the next neuron
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemicals released from the synaptic knob that pass across the synapse to pass on the signal to the dendrites of the next neuron
What are the 3 types of neurons?
Sensory, relay and motor
What are sensory neurons?
Transmit electrical impulses from receptors to the CNS
What are relay neurons?
Transmit electrical impulses between sensory neurons and motor neurons
What are motor neurons?
Transmit electrical impulses from CNS to effectors
What are reflexes?
Fast, automatic responses to stimuli
What is the advantage of reflexes?
They help us avoid damage
What does the synaptic knob contain?
Synaptic vesicles filled with neurotransmitters
What happens when an electrical impulse reaches the end of a neuron?
It causes neurotransmitters to be released into the synaptic cleft
What happens to neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft?
They diffuse across to the postsynaptic membrane and bind to specific receptors
What happens when neurotransmitters bind to receptors?
Trigger an electrical impulse, cause muscle contraction, or cause a hormone to be secreted
Why are impulses unidirectional?
Because receptors are only on the postsynaptic membranes
What do excitatory neurotransmitters do?
Increases the likelihood that an electrical impulse will be triggered in the postsynaptic neuron
What do inhibitory neurotransmitters do?
Decrease the likelihood that an electrical impulse will be triggered in the postsynaptic neuron
What is the structure of a sensory neuron?
Long dendrites, short axons
What is the structure of a relay neuron?
Short dendrites, short axons
What is the structure of a motor neuron?
Short dendrites, long axons
