nervous system

Question 1

what does the central nervous system consist of?

Answer 1

The brain and the spinal cord

Question 2

what is the function of the central nervous system

Answer 2

to process information received from the body’s internal and external environment and initiate appropriate responses

Question 3

what does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

Answer 3

the entire network of nerves outside of the brain and the spinal cord.

Question 4

What does the PNS do?

Answer 4

carry and transmit information between the spinal cord and the body’s muscles, organs, glands, etc.

Question 5

what are the two distinct function of the spinal cord?

Answer 5

1. carry sensory information from the PNS towards the brain for processing.
2. Carry motor information from the brain to the PNS, so that the muscles glands and internal organs respond in a particular way.

Question 6

what are the components of the PNS?(other nervous systems)

Answer 6

1. The Autonomic nervous system
   - sympathetic nervous system
   - parasympathetic nervous system
   - enteric nervous system
2. somatic nervous system

Question 7

what is the somatic nervous system?

Answer 7

a sub-division of the PNS that can carry sensory and motor information. it is responsible for all conscious and voluntary movement.

Question 8

what is the Autonomic nervous system?

Answer 8

is the sub-division of the PNS that connects the CNS to the internal organs (I.e. heart,stomach, liver) and glands (I.e sweat gland, adrenal glands)
it is called autonomous because the organs and glands are typically self-regulating meaning they can operate without conscious effort/control

Question 9

what is the enteric nervous system?

Answer 9

Refers to neurons embedded within the walls of the gastrointestinal tract that control how the organs operate.

Question 10

what is the enteric nervous system involved in?

Answer 10

Gut and intestine muscle movement
production of gastric acid
changes to blood flow
water and nutrition absorbtion
signalling being full or empty
vomit and/or diarrhoea for food poisoning,bacteria, etc.

Question 11

what are the types of neurons ?

Answer 11

sensory neurons- specialised to recieve sensory information from the external environment and within the body and transmit it towards the CNS for processing.

motor neurons- specialised to transmit messages from the CNS towards the muscles, glands and organs for movement

interneurons- carry messages between sensory and motor neurons. they only exist in the CNS. when sensory information arrives at the spinal cord, the interneurons- will receive, organise and integrate the information before responding.

Question 12

what is the spinal reflex and what are the biological processes involved in the spinal reflex?

Answer 12

An unconscious, involuntary and automatic response to certain stimuli, that doesn’t require involvement of the brain. it is also called a reflex and or a withdrawal reflex.

1. sensory receptors in the skin detect the potentially harmful stimuli and relay information to the sensory neurons-.
2. sensory neurons- carry information to the spinal cord.
3. interneurons in the spinal cord receive the information and immediately relay a message to the motor neurons.
4. motor neurons carry the message to the relevant muscle(s)
5. the muscle(s) react to allow the limb to get away from the object.
6. The interneurons also allow the sensory information to continue up the spinal cord so that it can reach the brain for processing.

Question 13

what are the different parts of a neuron

Answer 13

axon
soma
dendrites
myelin
axon terminals
terminal buttons

Question 14

what does the sympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 14

activates the internal muscles, organs and glands to prepare the body for vigorous activity or two deal with a stressful/threatening situation.

Question 15

what does the Autonomic nervous system do?

Answer 15

works to maintain ones normal state of functioning, once the stressor/threat has passed.

Question 16

how do neurons communicate?

Answer 16

for a pair of neurons to communicate, neurotransmitters must be released from the terminal buttons of the pre-synaptic neuron, cross the synaptic gap and bind to a receptor site on the dendrite of the postsynaptic neuron.

Question 17

what is the lock and key process?

Answer 17

reaching a receptor site doesn’t guarantee that the neurotransmitter will bind and release it’s message. each neurotransmitter has a chemically distinct shape and this will effect how succesful it is in the binding process

perfect match = bind = message received
close match = bind = message received
significant difference = no bind = message not received.

Question 18

what is an excitatory neurotransmitter?

Answer 18

some neurons have excitatory effects. these neurotransmitters stimulate or activate the post-synaptic neurons to perform their functions. in turn, they enhance neural transmission along neural pathways.

Question 19

what is an inhibitory neurotransmitter?

Answer 19

other neurotransmitters have inhibitory effects. these neurotransmitters block or prevent postsynaptic neurons from reacting.

Question 20

what are neuromodulators

Answer 20

neuromodulators are neurotransmitters that can influence the effectiveness of other neurotransmitters

Question 21

what is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter?

Answer 21

Glutamate

Question 22

what is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter?

Answer 22

GABA ( gamma amino butyric acid)

Question 23

what is synaptic plastcity

Answer 23

synaptic plasticity is the ability of a synapse to change in response to experience. more specifically and existing synapse can be strengthened and/or eliminated as a result of how often it is used.

Question 24

what is long term potentiation?

Answer 24

long term potentiation refers to the strengthening of a synapse, through strong and frequent stimulation of the synapse.

Question 25

what is long term depression?

Answer 25

refers to the decrease in the strength of a synaptic connection due to limited stimulation and/or a prolonged lack of stimulation of the synapse.

Question 26

what is sprouting?

Answer 26

additional branches can grow from the dendrites of a neuron . this process allows a neuron to reach and communicate with other nearby neurons.

Question 27

What is rerouting?

Answer 27

a neuron can abandon an existing connection and make a new one with a different neuron.

Question 28

what is pruning?

Answer 28

this is elimination of weak ineffective or unused synapses ( use it or lose it)

Question 29

what do neuromodulators do?

Answer 29

some neuromodulators will increase or decrease the potency of a neurotransmitter, others act on the receptor site of the post synaptic neuron making it more or less sensitive to a particular neurotransmitter.

Question 30

what is dopamine?

Answer 30

dopamine is a modulator that can have both inhibitory and excitatory effects, depending on the situation. it is associated with reward based learning, motivation,appetite,memory,addiction and parkinson’s disease. it can be released in large amounts, impact on large areas of brain tissue and be boosted through supplements.

Question 31

what is serotonin?

Answer 31

has only inhibitory effects, it is regarded as being a ‘good’ neuromodulator. it has stabilising effects and can counterbalance excessive excitatory effects. it has important roles in mood,emotional processing,appetite, pain perception, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders.