Control L1 Intro to brain Flashcards
What are 4 core functions of nervous system?
- Monitors internal and external stimuli
- Responds to stimuli
- Regulating activity of organs and our level of awareness of them
- Higher level functions e.g. personality, memory and emotion, learning and consciousness
What is the most basic functional unit of the nervous system?
neurones
How do neurones convey information?
electrical signals
What is the function of afferent neurones?
carry info from receptors to CNS
What is the function of efferent neurones?
carry info from CNS to peripheral effectors
What is the function of interneurons?
link afferent and efferent neurones to the CNS
What direction do electrical impulses travel through the neuron?
Away from cell body, through axon towards synapse and then to next cell’s dendrites on their cell body.
What is the difference between a squid’s axon and a rabbit’s nerve?
A squid only has one axon per nerve with no myelin sheath where as nerves in a rabbit are made up of multiple acorns each with a myelin sheath.
What fatty insulator surrounds most of the axons I’m the body?
myelin sheath
Give an example of a structure which has small axons wrapped in myelin sheaths?
Vertebrae
What is a bipolar neuron?
has two axons - one from dendrites to the cell body and the other from the cell body to the synapse
Where are bipolar neurones found?
Ear for hearing and other sensory functions
What are multipolar neurones?
Motor neurones (usually) where dendrites attached to cell body and has one axon away from cell body towards the synapse
What are pseudo-unipolar neurones?
Has two axons, peripheral and central allowing electrical signal to skip past the cell body.
What makes up the central Nerva system?
brain and spinal cord
What are peripheral nerves split into?
Somatic and autonomic
What is the function of somatic nerves?
Control external actions of skin and muscles
What can autonomic nerves be split into?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic
What is the function of autonomic nerves?
Controls internal environment e.g. activities of organs and glands - unconscious functions
What is the difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves?
Sympathetic are arousing nerves and parasympathetic are calming nerves.
What area of the brain is classed as dorsal? (in terms of a clock)
From 10 to 5 (clockwise)
What area of the brain is the ventral brain? (In terms of a clock)
From 5 to 10 (clockwise)
What is the caudal brain?
The posterior brain