Brain and Neurons Flashcards
dont suck
What is Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Eg) Sport, Health
What is the difference between a behaviour and a mental process
Mental process is something you experience inside the individual, eg a thought, a behaviour is the action you take based on that mental process.
Behaviour and mental processes influence each other, eg you feel cold (mental process), so you put your blazer on (behaviour). Eg: you have a fight with your friend (behaviour) so you feel guilty (mental process).
Difference between Psychiatrists and Psychologists
Psychologists study the brain and Psychiatrists prescribe medication.
If you need to be prescribed mediation you have to go to a Physiatrist, Psychologists can NOT prescribe medication
What is biology
Biology is the study of life and living organisms. Eg) Ecology, Genetics
Two parts of the nervous system
CNS and PNS (central nervous system and peripheral nervous system)
What is CNS made of
Brain and Spinal cord
What is are the two subdivisons of the PNS
Somatic and autonomic nervous systems
Function of the Spinal cord
The upper section of the spine is responsible for communication to the brain and upper parts of the body and the lower section of the spine is responsible for the lower parts of the body
Function of the brain
The brain is the control centre of the body it is the central hub of the nervous system
The spinal cord allows the brain to communicate with the rest of the body
Functions of the CNS
Receiving, processing, and responding to sensory information
Function of the PNS
To communicate information from the body’s organs, glands and muscles to the brain. And to communicate information from the brain to the body’s organs, glands and muscles.
Two subdivisions of the Autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic (prepares us for action, including the fight or flight response) and Parasympathetic (calms our body down and returns us to baseline/normal.
Function of the Autonomic Nervous system
The autonomic nervous system controls the body’s non-skeletal muscles. The autonomic system does everything we don’t need to think about. (AUTOMATICALLY = AUTONOMIC)
Function of the Somatic Nervous system
The somatic nervous system is responsible for carrying messages from the brain to the skeletal muscles (voluntary movement) - controlling our arms is with somatic.
what is the cerebrum
The largest part of the brain where all conscious thought and thinking occurs
Two parts of the cerebrum and what they do
The left hemisphere: Controls the right side of the body and looks after Speech, Language and comprehension
The right hemisphere: Controls the left side of the body and and controls creativity and spacial ability etc
4 brain lobes
Frontal Lobe, Temporal Lobe, Occipital Lobe and Parietal Lobe
Frontal Lobe
Important for your personality if it is missing your personality changes. Functions include problem solving, decision making.
Contains the Primary motor cortex which initiates voluntary movement. It also contains the production of speech
(Broca’s area)
Parietal Lobe
Found in the upper back half of the brain, Functions include:
processing sensory information, spatial awareness, direction
Contains the Primary somatosensory cortex, This part of the brain receives and processes information about touch, temperature and the position of muscles
Occipital Lobe
Vision and Contains the primary visual cortex.
Left lobe receives information from the right visual field
Right lobe receives information from the left visual field
Temporal Lobe
Next to ears. Contains areas responsible for hearing and language comprehension (Wernicke’s area).
Has a role in recognizing: Faces, places, songs, paintings
Contains the Primary Auditory Cortex
Where and what is Wernickes area
hearing and language comprehension - Temporal Lobe
Where and what is Brocas area
production of speech - Frontal lobe
Brocas Apashia and Wernickes Apashia
Wernickes Apashia - This is where people have damage to Wernicke’s area and have issues with comprehending speech and producing coherent speech
Brocas Apashia- this is when there is damage to Broca’s area and it is difficult for people to produce fluent speech
What is the cerebellum
The word Cerebellum means ‘little brain’, it is small. It is located at the base of the brain. Responsible for muscle coordination and balance.
What is a Neuron
A neuron is an individual nerve cell.
The entire nervous system is made up of neurons.
3 Types of Neurons
- Sensory neurons
- Interneurons (or relay neurons)
only found in CNS - Motor neurons
What is a sensory Neuron
pick up information from your senses to send to your brain
What are Motor neurons
move your muscles/organs/glands
What are Interneurons
transfer signals between sensory and motor neurons
What are the parts of Neurons
Dendrite
Soma
Axon
Axon terminal
Myelin
Dendrite
Receives information from other neurons and transmits it to the soma.
Soma
Also known as the cell body. This contains the nucleus and maintains the neuron and keeps is functioning
Axon
Thin tube-like extension that transmits information from the soma to the axon terminal.
Axon terminal
Found at the end of axons, this small structure stores and secretes neurotransmitters.
Myelin
A white fatty substance that coats the axon. This insulates the axon and allows the message to pass faster along the axon.
Synaptic gap (describe what happens and what structures are involved)
As one neuron does not touch the next neuron they need something to cross the space between the neurons so the message can be passed from one neuron to the next.
The space between neurons is called the synaptic gap.
How do neurons communicate
The neuron releases the neurotransmitters at the axon terminal, this passes on the chemical message. The neurotransmitters travel through the synaptic gap (synapse) then it binds to the receptor site on the dendrite. The electrochemical messaging has now been passed on from one neuron to the next.
Difference between Excitatory and inhibitory
Excitatory: makes the post synaptic neuron more likely to fire
Inhibitory: makes the post synaptic neuron less likely to fire
INHIBIT: STOP EXCITE= GO
What are Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that neurons use to communicate with each other.
What is it called when neurons communicate
IT IS CALLED SYNAPTIC TRANSIMISSION
