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Biology Topic 6A > Nervous Communication > Flashcards

Nervous Communication Flashcards

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1
Q

How do organisms respond to changes in their environment?

A

They need to pass information between different areas of its body.

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2
Q

How is information passed in animals?

A

Communication is carried out using nerve impulses.

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3
Q

What do receptors do?

A

They detect stimuli.

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4
Q

What can receptors be?

A

Cells, or proteins on cell surface membranes.

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5
Q

What is an example of a receptor?

A

Baroreceptors, which detect changes in blood pressure.

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6
Q

What are receptors specific to?

A

One type of stimulus.

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7
Q

What are effectors?

A

Cells that bring about a response to a stimulus, to produce an effect.

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8
Q

What are examples of effectors?

A
  • Muscle cells

* Cells found in glands (e.g. pancreas)

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9
Q

How do receptors communicate with effectors?

A

Via the nervous system or hormonal system (sometimes both).

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10
Q

What is the nervous system made up of?

A

A complex network of cells called neurones.

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11
Q

What are neurones?

A

Nerve cells

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12
Q

What are the three main types of neurones?

A
  • Sensory neurones.
  • Relay neurones
  • Motor neurones
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13
Q

What do sensory neurones do?

A

They transmit electrical impulses from receptors to the central nervous system (CNS) (the brain and spinal cord).

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14
Q

What do relay neurones do?

A

(intermediate neurones/interneurones) They transmit electrical impulses between sensory neurones and motor neurones.

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15
Q

What do motor neurones do?

A

They transmit electrical impulses from the CNS to effectors.

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16
Q

What happens during the pathway of nervous communication?

A
  • A stimulus is detected by receptor cells
  • An electrical impulse is sent along a sensory neurone
  • When an electrical impulse reaches the end of a neurone, chemicals called neurotransmitters take the information across the gap (synapse).
  • To the next neurone where another electrical impulse is generated.
  • The CNS (the coordinator) processes the information and sends impulses along motor neurones to an effector.
17
Q

What does the pathway of nervous communication look like?

A

image

18
Q

What are electrical impulses sent along neurones also called?

A

Nerve impulses or action potentials.

19
Q

What happens when an electrical impulse reaches the end of a neurone?

A

Chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are secreted directly onto cells (e.g. muscle cells), so the nervous response is localised.

20
Q

What happens to neurotransmitters once they have completed their job?

A

They are quickly removed, so the response is short-lived.

21
Q

How can animals react quickly to stimuli?

A

Electrical impulses are really fast, so the response is usually rapid.

22
Q

What is a simple reflex?

A

A rapid, involuntary response to a stimulus.

23
Q

What happens during simple reflexes?

A

The pathway of communication goes through the spinal cord, but not the conscious parts of the brain, so the response happens automatically.

24
Q

Why do simple reflexes not go through the conscious parts of the brain?

A

Because simple reflexes are protective.

25
Q

Why are simple reflexes protective?

A

They help organisms to avoid damage to the body because the response happens so quickly.

26
Q

Why is a simple reflex automatic?

A

Because you don’t have to spend time deciding how to respond, as the information travels really fast from receptors to effectors.

27
Q

What is a reflex arc?

A

The pathway of neurones linking receptor to effectors in a simple reflex.

28
Q

What does the pathway of nervous communication in a simple reflex arc look like?

A

image

29
Q

What are the cells neurotransmitters are released onto called?

A

Target cells (they have specific receptors for neurotransmitters).

30
Q

What is an example of a simple reflex?

A

The hand-withdrawal response to heat:
•You touch a hot surface
•Thermoreceptors in your skin detect the heat stimulus.
•A sensory neurone carries the impulse to the CNS
•In the CNS a relay neurone in your spinal cord carries the impulse to a motor neurone.
•The motor neurone carries the impulse to muscle cells in your biceps.
•Your bicep contracts to pull your hand away from the heat source.

31
Q

What could happen when there is a relay neurone involved in a simple reflex arc?

A

Then it is possible to override the reflex (e.g. your brain could tell your hand to withstand the heat).

32
Q

What is a voluntary nervous response?

A

An impulse that involves the conscious brain.

33
Q

What is an involuntary nervous response?

A

Reflexes that don’t involve the conscious brain.

Biology Topic 6A (5 decks)

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