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nervous system functioning Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 functions of the nervous system?

A
  • Receive info
  • Process info
  • Coordinate response
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2
Q

What is the role of the CNS?

A
  • Process info from internal (ANS) and external (SNS) environment
  • Activate appropriate responses
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3
Q

What is the role of the brain

A
  • Receive and process information from neural pathways
  • Direct action
  • Make decisions (conscious)
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4
Q

What is the role of the spinal cord?

A
  • Receives sensory info from body (via PNS), sends to brain for processing
  • Receives motor info from brain sends to PNS
  • responsible for simple motor reactions (spinal reflexes)
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5
Q

What is the role of the PNS?

A
  • Carries info to the CNS from internal (muscles, organs, glands) and external environments (sensory organs)
  • Carries info from CNS to appropriate muscle, organs, glands
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6
Q

What is the role of the somatic NS?

A
  • Carries sensory info to CNS
  • Carries motor info from CNS
  • controls voluntary movement via skeletal muscles
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7
Q

Outline how somatic NS is involved in responses

A
  • Stimulus is detected/received by sensory receptors on organ
  • sensory info transmitted to brain/spinal cord of CNS via sensory neurons and the spinal cord
  • brain process info & formulates conscious decision to initiate motor movement
  • motor info transmitted to muscle via motor neurons
  • activates movement
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8
Q

What is the role of the ANS?

A
  • controls activity of internal muscles, organs, glands (involuntary)
  • Regulate internal environment to keep us alive
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9
Q

What is the role of the sympathetic NS?

A
  • automatically arouses & energises body to prepare it to confront or escape a threat
  • Increase activity of most visceral muscles, organs, glands for vigorous physical activity
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10
Q

What is the role of the parasympathetic NS?

A
  • Counterbalances the effects of the sympathetic NS; calms body once threat has passed
  • Keeps body functioning at optimal level (efficiently)
  • Maintains homeostasis
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11
Q

What are the physiological changes in parasympathetic and sympathetic NS?

A

parasympathetic: pupils constrict, salivary glands increase production, decrease heart rate, lungs contract, stomach stimulated digestion, liver decreases glucose release, intestine increases digestion, bladder contract
sympathetic: pupils dilate, salivary glands decrease production, increase heart rate, lungs expand, stomach inhibit digestion, liver increase glucose release, intestines decrease digestion, bladder relaxes

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12
Q

Explain why heart rate increase (1), breathing rate increase (2), pupils dialating (3), digestion is surpressed (4), increase glucose release (5) aids in survival.

A

1: blood moves faster-> taking O2 & glucose to muscles= more energy
2: more O2 intake= more glucose= more energy for musces
3: take in more light= enhance vision to see threats better
4: conserve energy-> energy can be directed to muscles
5: provide body more energy to deal w/ threat

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13
Q

What is the difference between conscious and unconscious responses to stimuli?

A

Conscious: reactions involve awareness/paying attention
- Usually voluntary, intentional, goal-directed

Unconscious: don’t involve awareness/can’t control occurence
- involuntary, unintentional, automatic

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14
Q

why is a spinal reflex adaptive?

A
  • does not require conscious awareness/brain= faster reaction time
  • increases our survival/minimising harm to body from stimulus because it saves time
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15
Q

What is a reflex arc?

A
  • unconscious, involuntary, automatically occurring response to certain stimuli w/o any involvement from the brain
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16
Q

Outline the processes involved in the spinal reflex arc

A
  • sensory neurons carry sensory info via the PNS to the spinal cord
  • interneurons immediately relay motor info telling the body to move
  • motor response occurs while brain receives original sensory message
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17
Q

What is the role of the neuron?

A
  • Receive, process, transmit info to other cells.
  • Form neural pathways for info to be carried
18
Q

What are dendrites and its role?

A

branch- like extension of a neuron
- Detect and receive info from other neurons
- Passes info to soma for integration

19
Q

What is the axon and its role?

A

singular tube like extension
- Transmit info to other neurons

20
Q

What is myelin and its role?

A

fatty substance
- Surround and insualte axon
- Prevent interferences
- Allow messages to travel faster

21
Q

What are axon terminals and its role?

A

small branches with knob like tips at the end of the axon
- Store and secrete vesicles containing neurotransmitters

22
Q

What is the synapse and the components of it?

A

Site of communication between adjacent neurons
- terminal buttons of pre-synaptic neurons
- synaptic gap (space b/w neurons where neurotransmitters are released)
- dendrites of post-synaptic neuron

23
Q

What is a neurotransmitter and its role?

A
  • chemical substances produced by a neuron
  • Carries messages to other neurons or cells
24
Q

what is the lock and key process?

A

used to explain how neurotransmitters communicate neural information

25
Q

Explain the lock and key process

A
  • Each neurotransmitter has a chemically distinct shape like a unique key that can only bind to a corresponding shaped receptor site on the dentrites of the postsynaptic neuron like a key only fitting into the correctly shaped lock.
  • only opens and activates the neuron when accessed by the right key.
  • Allows neurotransmitter to cause excitatory or inhibitory changes to posynaptic neuron
26
Q

What is an inhibitory effect?

A
  • block or prevent postsynaptic neuron from firing
27
Q

What is an excitatory effect?

A
  • stimulate or activate a postsynaptic neuron
28
Q

What is glutamate and its role?

A

Primary excitatory neurtransmitter in CNS
- Makes post synaptic neurons more likely to fire
- enhances neural transmission

29
Q

What is GABA and its role?

A

Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS
- Makes post-synaptic neurons less likely to fire
- Involved in fine-tuning neurotransmission at an optimal level.

30
Q

why it is important to have both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters?

A
  • both are needed for optimal lvl brain function
  • Excitatory neurotransmitters ensure neurons perform a specific function
  • inhibitory neurotransmitters make sure that over-excitation doesn’t occur and damage neurons
31
Q

What are the 4 key motor symptoms of Parkinson’s?

A
  • tremor
  • muscle rigidity
  • slowness of movement
  • postural instability
32
Q

Describe tremor

A
  • continuous, involuntary shaking of the body
33
Q

Describe muscle rigidity

A
  • muscles are stiff, tight, unable to relax
34
Q

Describe slowness of movement

A
  • difficulty starting new movements/stopping ongoing movements
  • decrease in fine motor movements
35
Q

Describe postural instability

A
  • cannot maintain steady, upright posture
  • balance problems= difficult to prevent falling
  • walking disturbances
36
Q

What are some non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s

A
  • decreased sense of smell
  • fatigue
  • increased sensitivity to to temperature+sweating
  • mental health (confusion, panic, anxiety, depression)
  • impaired cognitive functioning (thinking, planning, decision making, memory)
37
Q

What is Parkinson’s diesease?

A
  • neurodegenerative disorder with motor & non-motor symptoms
38
Q

Why is Parkinson’s described as a neurological and degenerative disorder?

A
  • involves interference to NS functioning
  • symptoms progressively worsen over time
39
Q

How does Parkinson’s interfere with neurotransmission function (biological reason for motor symptoms)?

A
  • dopamine is responsible for sending messages for smooth motor movement
  • progressive death of dopamine producing neurons in substantia nigra
  • lower levels of dopamine= slower/ fewer/irregular messages about voluntary movement sent to brain
  • An inadequate message would be sent to skeletal muscles to perform the motor task= motor symptom
40
Q

What is the role of dopamine agonist in Parkinson’s disease?

A
  • Similar shape to dopamine= can bind to dopamine receptor= messages about movement can send

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