more khan Flashcards
somatosensation
senses of the body; includes position, vibration, touch, pain, temp
mechanoreceptors
respond to physical forces, mechanical stimuli- detects position, vibration, and touch
nociceptors
detect painful stimuli
thermoreceptors
detect temperature
reflexes
have two parts: afferent-bringing info in about stimulus and efferent-carries info away from CNS to produce response in periphery
muscle stretch reflex
if skeletal muscle is rapidly stretched, reflex will cause it to contract as a protective response; also called the knee-jerk reflex- hit right below kneecap with hammer causes leg to extend; when doctor hits you in tendon, it stretches the muscle rapidly, receptors in muscle (muscle spindles) detect stretch and send afferent signal for reflex
gray matter
contain most of neuron somas in CNS
white matter
contains most of myelinated axons
breathing reflex in newborns
muscles required for breathing work without conscious input
eye blink reflex
involuntary blinking in presence of bright light
pupillary reflex
constricts pupils in bright light
swallowing reflex
we aren’t taught how to swallow food
permanent reflexes
present throughout our entire life
neonatal reflexes
rooting reflex-if touch baby’s cheek, will turn head towards touch; babinski reflex-curl toes when foot is stroked; moro reflex-startle reaction; tonic neck reflex-when head turned to one side, arm straightens; galant reflex-when skin on back is stroked, baby will turn towards that side; palmer grasp reflex-grip hand around anything placed in palm; sucking reflex-will suck on anything placed in mouth
brain changes during adolescence
maturation of prefrontal cortex (higher order cognition), amygdala, hypothalamus, corpus callosum (connections between left and right hemispheres; see increased myelination in regions associated with higher level thinking; period of synaptic pruning- breaking down weak connections in order to focus energy on connections that are used most
