nervous system

Question 1

divisions of the peripheral

Answer 1

somatic

autonomic
into
sympathetic
parasympathetic

Question 2

divisions of the central

Answer 2

brain
hindbrain, forebrain and midbrain

spinal cord

Question 3

autonomic nervous system

Answer 3

regulates automatic behaviours of the body
eg heart rate, blood pressure

divides in sympathetic
stimulates fight or flight

and parasympathetic
inhibits

Question 4

somatic nervous system

Answer 4

voluntary movements

efferent - transmitting signals from CNS to body

afferent - deliver sensory information from body to CNS

Question 5

role of the spinal cord

Answer 5

spinal reflexes
simple pathways in the nervous system that rapidly generate muscle contractions

Question 6

hindbrain

Answer 6

medulla
pons
cerebellum

Question 7

midbrain

Answer 7

tectum
tegmentum

Question 8

forebrain

Answer 8

subcortical structures:
thalamus
hypothalamus
pituitary
limbic system
basal ganglia

cerebral cortex

Question 9

thalamus

Answer 9

relays and filters information from the senses
transmits information to cerebral cortex

receives inputs from all major senses (except smell)

Question 10

hypothalamus

Answer 10

regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst and sexual behaviour
ensures kept in optimal range for human functioning

Question 11

pituitary gland

Answer 11

master gland of bodies hormone system
releases hormones that control other glands

Question 12

limbic system

Answer 12

group of forebrain structures
includes amygdala and hippocampus
involved in motivation, learning and memory

Question 13

amygdala

Answer 13

part of limbic system

central role in emotional processes

Question 14

hippocampus

Answer 14

part of limbic system

creating new memories and integrating them into knowledge
stored in cerebral cortex

Question 15

basal ganglia

Answer 15

set of subcortical structures
relieve input from cerebral cortex and send output to motor centres in brainstem
voluntary movement

Question 16

cerebral cortex

Answer 16

highest level
involved in most complex aspects of perception
contains gyri and sulca

divided into left and right hemispheres
contralateral control
connected by corpus callosum
divided into 4 lobes

Question 17

frontal lobe

Answer 17

movement
executive functions
memory
central sulcus

Question 18

temporal lobe

Answer 18

hearing
language and visual processing
memory

Question 19

occipital lobe

Answer 19

visual processing

Question 20

parietal lobe

Answer 20

somatosensory processing
attention

Question 21

structure of a neuron

Answer 21

cell body (soma) - contains nucleus
dendrite - branch structures from cell body, receive electrical signals from others
axon - carries electrical impulse away from cell body to terminal buttons
terminal button - bud at end of branch of an axon, forms synapses with other neurons
synapse - junction between terminal button and membrane of next neuron
neurotransmitters
myelin sheath - extension of a glial cell that wraps around the neuronal axon
provide insulation and facilitate electrical transmission
nodes of ranvier - naked portion of myelinated axon between adjacent glial cells, help speed up conduction
glial cells - make up myelin sheath, providing insulation to facilitate transmission
action potentials move by saltatory conduction
conduction jumps from node to node

Question 22

resting potential

Answer 22

difference in electric charge between inside and outside of membrane
higher concentration of K+ inside and higher Na+ outside
Na+ channels closed

Question 23

action potential

Answer 23

electrical signal conducting along the length of an axon
occurs when threshold met
‘all or nothing’ principle

Question 24

depolarisation

Answer 24

electrical signal from receptor causes Na+ channels to open
if threshold met, all Na+ channels open
Na+ flow into axon
becomes depolarised

Question 25

depolarisation

Answer 25

at peak depolarisation Na+ channels close K+ channels open K+ diffuse out of cell membrane potential becomes more negative

Question 26

hyperpolarisation

Answer 26

K+ continues to flow out of axon causing membrane potential to drop below resting refractory period

Question 27

neurotransmitters

Answer 27

small molecules released by presynaptic neuron facilitate change in membrane potential of post synaptic neuron can be inhibitory or excitatory inhibitory = decrease chance of action potential in post excitatory = increase chance

Question 28

how does neurotransmission stop?

Answer 28

reuptake - neurotransmitter transported back to presynaptic cell to be recycled autoreception - autoreceptors in presynaptic cell inhibit further neurotransmitter release or synthesis enzyme degradation - neurotransmitter is broken down by enzymes in synapse

Question 29

how is firing rate determined?

Answer 29

shared inputs from both inhibitory and excitatory determined by strength of inputs more excitatory = high firing rate more inhibitory = reduced firing rate

Question 30

how do drugs work?

Answer 30

increase, interfere or mimic neurotransmitters may have similar structures can bind to receptor and activate (agonist = increase action) or block (antagonist = inhibit action) neurotransmitters