CNS- Structure and Function W3 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the functions of the nervous system?

A

Control of the internal environment
Voluntary control of movement
Spinal cord reflexes
Assimilation of experiences necessary for memory and learning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What does control of the internal environment involve?

A

Perceiving and responding to events in the interval/external environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Where is the CNS?

A

Brain and spinal cord

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Where is the PNS?

A

Neurons outside the CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the sensory division?

A

Afferent fibres which transmit impulses from receptors to CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the motor division?

A

Efferent fibres transmit impulses from CNS to effector organs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the somatic sensory?

A

Sensor input that is consciously perceived from receptors (eyes, ears and skin)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the visceral sensory?

A

Sensory input that is not consciously perceived from receptors of blood vessels and internal organs (heart)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is the somatic motor?

A

Motor output that is consciously or voluntarily controlled; effector is skeletal muscle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the autonomic motor?

A

Motor output that is not consciously or is involuntarily controlled

Effectors are cardiac muscle, smooth muscle and glands

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What part of the nervous system is input?

A

Sensory Nervous System
Somatic Sensory
Visceral Sensory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What part of the nervous system is output?

A

Motor Nervous System
Somatic Motor
Autonomic Motor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the sensory nervous system?

A

Detects stimuli and transmits information from receptors to the CNS

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the motor nervous system?

A

Initiates and transmits information from the CNS to effectors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is an axon?

A

Carries electrical message (action potentials) away from cell body
Covered by Schwann cells

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are Schwann cells?

A

Form discontinuous myelin sheath along length of axon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a synapse?

A

Contact points between axon of one neuron and dendrite of another neuron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What causes a greater speed of neural transmission?

A

Increase in the diameter of an axon
Increase in myelin sheath

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What type of tissue are neurons?

A

Excitable tissue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is magnitude of rest potential determined by?

A

Permeability of plasma membrane to ions

Difference in ion concentrations across membranes (Na+, K+, Cl- and Ca+2)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is the negative charge of a cell at rest (polarised)?

A

-5 to -100mv
-40 to -75mv in neurons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

How is the exchange of sodium and potassium across cell membranes maintained?

A

Maintained by sodium-potassium pump

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What does the Na+/K+ pump do during the exchange of sodium and potassium across cell membrane?

A

Moves 2 K+ in and 3 Na+ out
Potassium tends to diffuse out of the cell

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is the all-or-none law for action potentials?

A

Once a nerve impulse is initiated, it will travel the length of the neuron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is repolarisation in action potentials?

A

Returns to resting membrane potential
- K+ leaves the cell rapidly
- Na+ channels close

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is an action potential?

A

Occurs when a stimulus of a sufficient strength depolarises the cell

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What does an action potential do?

A

Opens Na+ channels, and Na+ diffuses into the cell

Causes the inside of the cell to become more positive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is a neurotransmitter?

A

Chemical messenger from presynaptic membrane

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What does a neurotransmitter bind too?

A

A receptor on postsynaptic memrbane

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What does a neurotransmitter cause?

A

Depolarization of postsynaptic membrane

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What are the 2 types of neurotransmitter?

A

Excitatory (EPSP)
Inhibitory (IPSP)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

How can EPSPs promote neural depolarization?

A

1) Temporal summation
2) Spatial summation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is temporal summation (EPSP)?

A

Rapid, repetitive excitation from a single excitatory presynaptic neuron

34
Q

What is spatial summation (EPSP)?

A

Summing EPSPs from several different presynaptic neurons

35
Q

What does EPSP stand for?

A

Excitatory postsynaptic potential

36
Q

What does IPSP stand for?

A

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

37
Q

What does IPSP cause?

A

Hyperpolarization

38
Q

What is hyperpolarization?

A

More negative resting membrane potential

39
Q

By having neurons with a more negative membrane potential, what does this cause?

A

Resistance to depolarization

40
Q

What happens when neurons moves towards the threshold?

A

EPSP> IPSP

41
Q

What are muscle proprioceptors (mechanoreceptors)?

A

Muscle spindles
Golgi Tendon organs

42
Q

What are joint proprioceptors?

A

Free nerve endings
Golgi type receptors
Pacinian corpuscles

43
Q

What are free nerve endings?

A

Most abundant
Touch, pressure

44
Q

What are Golgi type receptors?

A

Found in joint ligaments

45
Q

What are Pacinian corpuscles?

A

Tissues around joints/skin

46
Q

What is proprioception?

A

Sense of the body’s position in space based on specialised receptors that reside in the muscles, tendons and joint

47
Q

What are proprioceptors?

A

Sensors that provide information about joint angle, muscle length and muscle tension, which is integrated to give information about the position of the limb in space

48
Q

What are muscle spindles?

A

Responds to changes in muscle length

49
Q

What do muscle spindles consist off?

A

Intrafusal fibres
Gamma motor neurons

50
Q

What are intrafusal fibres?

A

Run parallel to normal muscle fibres (extrafusal fibres)

51
Q

What are gamma motor neurons?

A

Stimulate intrafusal fibres to contact with extrafusal fibres (by alpha motor neuron)

52
Q

What is a stretch reflex?

A

Stretch on muscle causes reflex contraction

53
Q

How does a muscle spindle work?

A

1) Detect stretch of the muscle
2) Sensory neurons conduct action potentials to the spinal cord
3) Sensory neurons synapse with alpha motor neurons
4) Stimulation of the alpha motor neurons causes the muscle to contract and resist being stretched

54
Q

What is the function of a muscle spindle?

A

Assist in the regulation of movement
Maintain posture

55
Q

What does a Golgi Tendon Organ do?

A

Monitor force development in muscle by preventing muscle damage during excessive force generation

56
Q

What does stimulation of Golgi Tendon Organ do?

A

Reflex relaxion of the muscle

57
Q

How do reflex relaxation of muscle via Golgi Tendon Organ occur?

A

Inhibitory neurons send IPSPs to muscle alpha motor neurons

58
Q

What may ability to voluntarily oppose GTO inhibition be related too?

A

Gains in strength with training due to increased tendon stiffness

59
Q

How does a Golgi Tendon Organ work?

A

1) Detect tension applied to a tendon
2) Sensory neurons conduct action potentials to the spinal cord
3) Sensory neurons synapse with inhibitor interneurons that synapse with alpha motor neurons
4) Inhibition of the alpha motor neurons causes muscle relaxation, relieving the tension applied to the tendon

60
Q

What do muscle chemoreceptors do?

A

Inform CNS about metabolic rate of muscular activity

61
Q

Where are motor neurons are located?

A

Spinal cord

62
Q

What are motor neurons responsible for?

A

Carrying neural messages from spinal cord to skeletal muscles

63
Q

What are motor units?

A

Motor neurons and all the muscle fibres which it innervates

64
Q

What is innervation ratio?

A

Number of muscle fibres innervated by a single motor neuron

65
Q

How does motor control influence innveration ratio?

A

Low ratio in muscles involved in fine motor control
Higher ratio in muscles that do not require fine motor control

66
Q

What are the different types of motor units?

A

Type S (slow) or type 1 fibres (SMALLEST)

Type FR (fast, fatigue resistant) or type IIa fibres (INTERMEDIATE)

Type FF (fast, fatigable) or type IIx fibres (LARGEST)

67
Q

What are 3 key components of the brain?

A

Cerebrum or cerebral cortex
Cerebellum
Brainstem

68
Q

What does the cerebrum or cerebral cortex do?

A

Organization of complex movement
Storage of learned experiences
Reception of sensory information

69
Q

What does the cerebellum do?

A

Implicated in control of movement and integration of sensory information

70
Q

What does the brainstem do?

A

Role in cardiorespiratory function, locomotion, muscle tone, posture, receiving information from special senses

71
Q

What makes up the brainstem?

A

Midbrain (Mesencephalon)
Medulla Oblongata
Pons

72
Q

What does the midbrain do?

A

Connects the pons and cerebral hemispheres
Functions include
- Controlling responses to sight
- Eye movement
- Pupil dilation
- Body movement
- Hearing

73
Q

What does the medulla oblongata do?

A

Involved in control of autonomic function, relaying signals between the brain and spinal cord and coordination of body movements

74
Q

What does the Pons do?

A

Involved in sleep and the control of autonomic function
Relays sensory information between the cerebrum and cerebellum

75
Q

What ae the 3 neurons in the spinal cord?

A

Motor neurons
Sensory neurons
Interneurons

76
Q

What is spinal tuning?

A

Intrinsic neural networks within spinal cord that refine voluntary movement after receiving messages from higher brain centres

77
Q

What is withdrawal reflex?

A

Occurs via a reflex arc, whereby a reflex contraction of skeletal muscles can occur in response to sensor input and is not dependent on the activation of higher brain centres

Means of removing a limb from a source of pain

78
Q

When controlling voluntary movement, what does the spinal mechanisms do?

A

Results in refinement of motor control

79
Q

When controlling voluntary movement, what does feedback from proprioceptors do?

A

Allows for further modification in motor control

79
Q

When controlling voluntary movement, what does the motor cortex do?

A

Receives inputs from variety of brain areas including basal nuclei, cerebellum, thalamus