Homeostasis and response Flashcards
What is a stimulus ?
A change in the environment
What stimuli do the nose receptors detect ?
odours ( chemicals in the air)
What stimuli do skin receptors detect ?
touch, temperature, pain
What stimuli do ear receptors detect ?
Sound
What stimuli do eye receptors detect ?
Light and movement
What stimuli do your tongue receptors detect ?
Chemicals in food and drink
What are the two sections of the nervous system ?
Central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
What is the central system made up of ?
Brain and spinal cord
What is the peripheral nervous system made up of ?
Neurons ( nerve cells) that carry information to or from the CNS
What does the nervous system enable us to do ?
Enables us to react to our surroundings and coordinate our behaviour
What is an effector ?
An organ that does something in response to a stimulus
What are the two types of effectors and what do they do ?
Muscles - contract and relax
Glands - release / produce hormones
How is information in the nervous system carried ?
Carried as electrical impulses
How are electrical impulses transmitted ?
Transmitted by nerve cells
What is the role of the sensory neuron ?
Carries nerve impulses from sense organs towards the central nervous system
What do relay neurons do ?
carry nerve impulses within the central nervous system
What does the motor neuron do ?
Carries nerve impulse away from CNS towards an effector organ ( muscle or gland )
What are receptors and what do they do ?
cells which are clustered together in sense organs such as your eyes
They detect stimuli and send information to CNS through sensory neurons
Describe the normal impulse route
A stimulus is detected by a receptor.
The receptor converts this information into a nerve impulse
This impulse is transmitted from the receptor to the CNS along sensory neurons
The CNS coordinates the information and sends another impulse in response.
This impulse passes along motor neurons to the relevant effector (normally a muscle or a gland) to bring about a response.
What is a reflex action ?
A rapid, automatic response of the nervous system which bypasses the brain
What is the impulse route for reflex actions called ?
The Reflex Arc
Why is the reflex Arc important ?
- allows us to avoid danger or harm
- allows us to coordinate everyday bodily functions ie eating, seeing, walking, sleeping etc
Describe the reflex Arc
A stimulus is detected by a receptor
The receptor converts this information into a nerve impulse
The impulse is transmitted to the spinal cord along sensory neurons
Spinal cord will transfer the impulse to relay neurons
Relay neurons transfer impulse to a motor neurons
Motor neurons carries impulse to an effector which will bring about a response
What are the adaptations of a neuron ?
- long fibre ( axon) so they can carry impulses up and down body over long distances
- branched connections called dendrites which receive incoming nerve impulses from other neurons ( allows neurons to communicate)
- axon is insulated by a fatty myelin sheath which increases the speed of the nerve impulses along the neuron
What is a synapse ?
The gap between two neurons
How do nerve impulses cross the gap between two neurons ?
- when electrical impulse hits the end of a nerve, causes the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters
- these diffuse across the synapse to the next nerve cell where they can trigger another electrical impulse
- new impulse continues along the new nerve cell to the other end, where it will hit another synapse and process repeats
What are the two coordinators in the nervous system ?
brain and spinal cord
What is the role of brain and spinal cord
To receive and process information from receptors around the body
What is reaction time ?
The amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus
what are some factors affecting reaction time ?
age, gender, physical fitness, fatigue, distraction, alcohol, personality type, and whether the stimulus is auditory or visual.
What are the steps for investigating human reaction times ? ( required practical 7)
Step 1: Person A sits on a stool with good upright posture and place the forearm of their dominant hand across the table with their hand overhanging the edge
Step 2: Person B holds the ruler vertically with the 0 cm mark between person A’s thumb and index finger
Step 3: Person B drops the ruler at a random time and person A has to catch the ruler with their thumb and index finger as quick as possible
Step 4: Person B records the measurement on the ruler which is level with the top of person A’s thumb
Step 5: Experiment is repeated and a mean reaction distance is calculated. Results can be converted into reaction times using a conversion table
Step 6: Person A and B switch places with person A now testing the reaction time of person B ( steps 1- 5 repeated )
What are some control variables for practical affecting reaction time ?
Starting distance between thumb and index finger should be kept constant
Measurement of reaction distance should always be measured from top of the thumb
Conditions in room should be kept the same ie lighting and background noise
What is the role of the cerebral cortex ?
Controls consciousness, intelligence, memory and language
What is the role of the cerebellum ?
Controls balance, coordination of movement and muscular activity
What is the role of the medula ?
controls unconscious activities such as heart beat and breathing rate
What is the role of the hypothalamus ?
It is the regulating centre for temperature and water balance in the body
What are the four main areas of the brain ?
Cerebral cortex, cerebellum, medula and hypothalamus
What are three methods used to map areas of the brain to their functions ?
CT scans , MRI and EEG scanner
What does MRI stand for ?
magnetic resonance imaging
How does an MRI scanner work ?
- Magnets in the machine create a strong magnetic field
- scanner then sends radio waves through your body
- When radiowaves are turned off , the scanner picks up energy signals from your body
- energy signals are then used to form pictures/ images of regions of your body
What are the advantages of MRI ?
- non invasive ( ie doesn’t involve putting a camera inside of you )
- Doesn’t use ionising radiation ( high dose of IR can cause cancer)
- Safer than CT scans