🟢 Biopsychology - The Nervous System Flashcards
What is our nervous system divided into
Central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system
What does the central nervous system contain
Brain and the spinal cord
What does our brain control
Centre of all conscious awareness and it does 2 things, receives information from sensory receptors and sends messages to muscl glands in the body
What does the spinal cord do
The spinal cord is an extension of the brain. It transports messages to and from the brain to the peripheral nervous system. It is also responsible for reflexes.
What does the spinal cord consist of
Collection of nerve cells which are attached to the brain and run the length of the spinal cord
What does the spinal cord consist of
Collection of nerve cells which are attached to the brain and run the length of the spinal cord
What does the peripheral nervous system do
- it consists of all other nerves which are not part of the CNS
- reaching out to other parts of the body all the way down to the tips of toes
What is the peripheral nervous system divided into
- somatic nervous system
- autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system
Part of the PNS that is associated with the voluntary control of body movements. It includes both sensory receptors and motor pathways.
- The motor pathways run the opposite way taking information from the CNS out
- the sensory neurons carry sensory information to the CNS
What does the autonomic nervous system control
Involuntary actions
What does the autonomic nervous system have an important role in
Homeostasis - regulation of internal body conditions
2 sections of the autonomic nervous system
- Sympathetic - gets us ready for emergencies and is involved in the fight or flight response
- Parasympathetic - restores natural order, relaxing us after an emergency and is called ‘rest and digest’
Examples of what ANS controls
Smooth muscles and glands
Internal organs: stomach, intestines …
Heart rate
What is the Fight or flight response
An early evolutionary adaptation that is useful in dealing with physical threats. It helps us with dealing with short term problems that can be solfved by fighting or running
How is the fight or flight activated
The amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This recognises the stress so it activates the synpathomedullary pathway
How is adrenaline released
- Amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
- Hypothalamus sends signals to sympathetic ganglia
- The signal is then passed onto the adrenal medulla where adrenaline is released
Difference between SAM and PAS in pathway
SAM= electrical impulses
PAS= hormones
Role of adrenaline
Triggers sympathetic activity. This
- increases heart rate
- increases blood flow
- raising blood pressure
- digestion inhibited
- saliva inhibited
- prepares body for flight or flights
- pupil size increases
Pituitary adrenal system (PAS) pathway
Hypothalamus releases CRF which then activates the pituitary gland and releases ACTH which then activates the adrenal cortex
This then releases corticosteroids
Pituitary adrenal system (PAS) pathway
Hypothalamus releases CRF which then activates the pituitary gland and releases ACTH which then activates the adrenal cortex
This then releases corticosteroids
What did Gray 1988 suggest
He stated that the first response to danger is to avoid confrontation altogether, demonstrated by FREEZE RESPONSE
Difference between fight r flight response: genders
- typically male response to danger
- females tend to adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ response in stress situation
Difference between fight or flight response for then vs now
Then = faced genuinely life threatening situations
Now = life rarely requires such intense biological response
