Nervous System & Brain Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous system
nerves outside of the brain
sends input from the senses to the brain
receives output from the brain to muscles
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
part of the PNS, and regulates non-conscious or automatic activities
Sympathetic Branch
A part of ANS
activate emotional arousal by the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine
“fight or flight”
short term response
NT are norepinephrine
Effects that drugs can affect the Sympathetic branch
mimic sympathetic arousal (cocaine, hallucinogens and ampetamines)
Effects that drugs can affect the Sympathetic branch
mimic sympathetic arousal (cocaine, hallucinogens and amphetamines)
block norepinephrine receptor in the sympathetic nervous system, “beta blockers”
Parasympathetic branch
second branch of the ANS
balances action from the sympathetic branch by extracting opposite effects
reduces heart rate, blood pressure, etc.
NT are serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine
Hindbrain
medulla
pons
cerebellum
Medulla
regulation of basic functions, ie: breathing, heart rate, vomiting, blood pressure, swallowing
Drug effect impact on the medulla
can cause respiratory or cardiovascular failure
Pons
Pathway for input up and output down from the spinal cord
controls sleep and wakefulness
cerebellum
critical for motor control
activation is unconscious that involves balance, coordinated movements and speech
alcohol can affect cerebellum functions
Midbrain
Inferior Colliculi (auditory)
Superior Colliculi (vision)
Subsrtantia Nigira (movement)
Forebrain
Hypothalamus
Limbic System
Cerebrum & Cerebral
Cortex
thalamus
relay station, receives incoming sensory & stimuli then relays the information to relevant centers throughout the brain
Hypothalamus
structure in the motivation of behaviour
regulation of eating & drinking
control of body temperature, aggression and sexual behaviour
Two sites of the hypothalamus
inhibit eating & excite hunger
Limbic System Structure
hippocampus & amygdala
Amygdala
mediating certain types of aggression, fear and emotional experiences. responsible for “fight or flight”
Hippocampus
critical in memory storage
Damaged Hippocampus
People can remember things prior to the damage but cannot store new memories, aka long term memory is in interacted
Feature that distinguishes the human brain from other animals
enlarged cerebral cortex
Cerebral Cortex
grey matter that impacts thinking and making complex decision making
Cerebrum
Helps with balance
Triune Brain Theory (1990s)
States the brain is divided into three parts
- Reptilian
- Paleomammalian (emotion)
- Neomammalian
Reptilian
control of our innate and automatic self-preserving behavior patterns
what are often referred to as, the four Fs: Feeding, Fighting, Fleeing, and… Reproduction
FPTO
Frontal Lobe
Parietal Lobe
Temporal Lobe
Occipital Lobe
Frontal Lobe
impuse control & motor movement
Parietal Lobe
body senses (pain, pleasure, vibration)
Temporal Lobe
Sound, understanding language, object recognition, long term memory
Occipital Lobe
visual perception, including colour, form and motion
Prefrontal Cortex
central role in cognitive control functions
- attention, impulse inhibition, prospective memory, and cognitive flexibility
VTA
Ventral Tegmental Area
significant role in reward, motivation, cognition, and aversion
nucleus accumbens
neural interface between motivation and action,
playing a key role on feeding, sexual, reward, stress-related, drug self-administration behavior
somogyi effect
happens when you take insulin before bed and wake up with high blood sugar levels
