nervous system

Question 1

function of nervous system

Answer 1

receives information, process information and coordinates a response

Question 2

what is within the nervous system

Answer 2

Peripheral NS(somatic(sympathetic and parasympathetic) and autosomatic) and central NS(brain and spinal cord)

Question 3

function of central nervous system

Answer 3

• sends and receives messages to and from the PNS

Question 4

function of the brain

Answer 4

• processes sensory info
• coordinates a response to that information
  CNS

Question 5

function of spinal cord

Answer 5

• connects the brain to the PNS
• receives sensory info from PNS and sense to the brain(up to spinal cord)
• receives motor information from the brain and sends it to various parts of the body using the PNS(down the spinal cord)
  CNS

Question 6

function of Peripheral nervous system

Answer 6

• made up the entire network oF nerves outside the CNS
  -carries sensroy information to the CNS
  -carries motor information from CNS

Question 7

Somatic Nervous System

Answer 7

-Initiates skeletal movement
* Carries sensory information to the CNS (neural
pathways are afferent/towards)
* Carries motor information from the CNS (neural
pathways are efferent/away from)

Question 8

Autonomic nervous system

Answer 8

Connects CNS to internal organs and
glands
* Self-regulating/automatic (not under
voluntary control)
* Regulates the muscles controlling
organs (known as visceral muscles)

Question 9

sympathetic nervous system

Answer 9

• Prepares the body for action
• Fight-flight-freeze response
• Triggered by a stressor/fear stimulus
• Releases hormones such as adrenaline,
  from the adrenal glands
• Heart rate and breathing rate increases

Question 10

parasympathetic

Answer 10

• decreases visceral muscles
• Calms the body after action
• Dominates the sympathetic nervous
  system most of the time (during routine,
  everyday activities)
• Takes longer to return the body to its
  normal state as it has to remove
  hormones from the bloodstream

Question 11

conscious response

Answer 11

A conscious response to a sensory stimulus is a reaction that involves awareness and is
voluntary. It usually happens after you have paid attention to the stimulus

Question 12

unconscious response

Answer 12

An unconscious response to a sensory stimulus is a reaction that doesn’t involve awareness. It
is involuntary and automatic. These are generally controlled by the autonomic nervous system,
and include functions such as blinking, or your heart beating. Sometimes they are reflexive
responses, when there isn’t enough time to make a conscious response

Question 13

spinal reflex

Answer 13

A spinal reflex is an unconscious and involuntary response that occurs automatically to certain
stimulus, without any involvement of the brain. This allows for a faster reaction time in
potentially harmful situations

Question 14

neurons

Answer 14

A neuron is an individual nerve cell that is specialised to receive, process and
transmit information to other cells in the body

Question 15

parts of neurons

Answer 15

dendrites, axon, myelin, axon terminals, terminal button

Question 16

synaptic gap

Answer 16

The synaptic gap is a tiny gap
(about 500 times thinner than a human hair)
between the dendrites of one neuron and the
terminal buttons of another neuron. It is part
of the synapse, which is where
communication between two neurons occurs

Question 17

neurotransmitter

Answer 17

neurotransmitters are a chemical substance produced by a neuron that carry a message to
other neurons or cells. When carrying a message to another neuron, neurotransmitter works by
attaching themselves to receptor sites of postsynaptic neurons. The neuron that releases the
neurotransmitter is called the presynaptic neuron

Question 18

glutamate

Answer 18

glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS. This means that glutamate
enhances information transmission by making postsynaptic neurons more likely to fire. It is
associated with increases in learning and memory

Question 19

gaba

Answer 19

GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. It works throughout the brain to make
postsynaptic neurons less likely to fire

Question 20

agonists

Answer 20

Substances that increase the receptiveness of the dendritic
receptors to a particular neurotransmitter are known as agonists

Question 21

Dopamine

Answer 21

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is important for balance,
movement, pleasure + rewarding behaviours. It is a
neuromodulator, meaning that it can lead to both excitatory +
inhibitory effects
* can be released from a neuron far from its receptor site
* influence effects of other chemical messengers

Question 21

Dopamine

Answer 21

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is important for balance,
movement, pleasure + rewarding behaviours. It is a
neuromodulator, meaning that it can lead to both excitatory +
inhibitory effects
* can be released from a neuron far from its receptor site
* influence effects of other chemical messengers

Question 22

Serotonin

Answer 22

• Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (that also acts as a hormone) and
  is important for mood and sleep
• the ‘feel-good’ hormone

Question 23

neural plastcity

Answer 23

Neural plasticity is the ability of the brain’s neural structure or function to be changed
throughout the lifespan, generally through experience. Neural plasticity is the basis of learning
and memory

Question 24

synaptic plasticity

Answer 24

Synaptic plasticity refers to the ability of the synapse to change over timee

Question 25

srpouting, rerouting and pruning

Answer 25

• Sprouting is the formation of new neural connections to create new synaptic
  pathways
• Rerouting is the establishment of an alternate synaptic pathway to avoid
  damaged neurons
• Pruning is the removal of unnecessary synapses in order to make useful
  neural pathways more efficient

Question 26

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 26

Long-term potentiation (LTP) refers to the long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections.
This results in more effective synaptic transmission between the neurons. The postsynaptic
neuron becomes more and more responsive to neurotransmitters released by the presynaptic
neuron. This occurs because of repeated activation of the two neurons together

Question 27

Long-term depression (LTD)

Answer 27

Long-term depression (LTD) is a long-lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic connections.
It is the opposite of long-term potentiation. This results from a continued lack of stimulation
between neurons. The postsynaptic neuron becomes less and less responsive to
neurotransmitters released by the presynaptic neuron