Organisation Of Nervous System

Question 1

In which two main categories is the Nervous system divided?

Answer 1

Into the Central Nervous System and the Periphal Nervous System.

Question 2

How is the Central Nervous System divided?

Answer 2

Into the brain and the Spinal cord.

Question 3

How is the Periphal Nervous System divided?

Answer 3

Into the Somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

Question 4

Which nervous system has sensory and motor pathways and controls muscles and movements?

Answer 4

The somatic nervous system.

Question 5

Which nervous system has only motor pathways and controls muscles and movements?

Answer 5

The autonomic nervous system.

Question 6

Which nervous system is responsible for voluntary movements?

Answer 6

The somatic nervous system.

Question 7

Which nervous system is responsible for involuntary movements such as breathing and heart beat?

Answer 7

The autonomic nervous system.

Question 8

What do the afferents nerves of the peripheral nervous system do?

Answer 8

The afferent nerves (sensory system)

convey information from the receptors to the central nervous system.

Question 9

What do the efferent nerves of the peripheral nervous system do?

Answer 9

The efferent nerves (motor system) convey information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.

Question 10

What does the somatic nervous system of the peripheral nervous system’s efferent (motor) system do?

Answer 10

The somatic nervous system (SNS)

conveys information from the central nervous system to skeletal muscles.

Question 11

What does the autonomic nervous system of the peripheral nervous system’s efferent (motor) system do?

Answer 11

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) conveys information from the central nervous system to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands.

Question 12

How can the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of the peripheral nervous system be further divided?

Answer 12

Into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Question 13

What does the sympathetic nervous system of the ANS do?

Answer 13

It controls the body’s response to perceived threats (fight or flight).

It releases adrenaline, increases heart rate, increases conversion of glycogen to glucose, dilates bronchial tubes and pupils, contracts muscles and decreases digestive function, saliva production, mucus production and urine secretion.

Question 14

What does the parasympathetic nervous system of the ANS do?

Answer 14

The PSNS maintains the body’s internal environment (rest and digest) and is responsible for regulating digestive and sexual functions and while keeping heart rate and blood pressure steady.

Question 15

What is the main function of our specialised sensory receptors ?

Answer 15

To convert external stimuli into pattern of nerve impulses.

Question 16

What is a synapse?

Answer 16

The gap between the axon of one neuron and the cell body of the next neuron.

Question 17

How get information transferred between Neurons?

Answer 17

Electrical impulses carried along the axon stimulate release of neurotransmitters into the synapse, which can trigger an action potential in the next neuron by combining with receptors.
(Chemical transmission, neurotransmitters must be sufficient to activate postsynaptic membrane)

Question 18

How can synapses vary?

Answer 18

Synapses can be inhibitory as well as excitatory, and activity in the brain is the result of this balance between excitation and inhibition.

Question 19

How many neurotransmitters are there?

Answer 19

20-30 neurotransmitters, each is associated with a specialised receptor, and there are also enzymes which break down neurotransmitters after their synaptic action.

Question 20

How are drugs called that are increasing neurotransmitter function?

Answer 20

Agonists

Question 21

How are drugs called that decrease neurotransmitter function?

Answer 21

Antagonists / Blockers

Question 22

How do many drugs affect the brain and behaviour?

Answer 22

By interfering with synaptic transmission. Either directly via action on receptors, or indirectly through actions on neurotransmitter release and break down.

Question 23

What are neuronal pathways?

Answer 23

Some Neurons are organised as pathways running from hindbrain to forebrain , with all Neurons releasing the same neurotransmitter.

Question 24

The degeneration of which pathway is responsible for symptoms of Parkinson’s disease?

Answer 24

Nigro-striatal dopamine pathway.

Question 25

How can the brain be studied in regards to electric transmission?

Answer 25

Electrical activity can be simulated using thin wire electrodes, or recorded in the form of evoked potentials or the electroencephalogram.

Question 26

How can the brain be studied in regards to chemical transmission?

Answer 26

Drugs can be used to stimulate or block species receptors, or to increase or decrease levels of specific neurotransmitters, before observing behavioural effects

Question 27

What are the most recent techniques to study the brain?

Answer 27

CAT scanners, MRI, PET Scanners

Question 28

Where are the centres regulating the autonomic nervous system and the arousal state of the brain?

Answer 28

In the Medulla and Pons of the hindbrain (vital to physiological survival).

Question 29

What hindbrain structure integrates and synchronises skeletal movement?

Answer 29

The Cerebellum.

Question 30

Medulla, Pons and Midbrain together are called?

Answer 30

Brainstem

Question 31

What is continuous with the Pons and contains structures important to arousal and sensory processes such as hearing and vision?

Answer 31

The Midbrain

Question 32

How is the forebrain divided?

Answer 32

Into Diencephalon and Telencephalon.

Question 33

What is contained in the diencephalon?

Answer 33

The hypothalamus and the thalamus.

Question 34

What does the hypothalamus do?

Answer 34

It regulates the activity of the pituitary gland and the autonomic nervous system (vitally concerned with homeostasis and in arousal states linked to stress and emotion)

Question 35

What does the thalamus do?

Answer 35

It has important functions in processing sensory input, and damage can also affect memory and cognitive abilities.

Question 36

What does the telencephalon contain?

Answer 36

The telencephalon, or cerebral hemispheres, contains:

• the limbic system (containing hippocampus and amygdala; involved in emotion and memory)
• the basal ganglia (containing caudate nucleus and the putamen, known jointly as striatum; important for movement control).

Question 37

What is the Neocortex?

Answer 37

• It’s the most recently evolved and advanced part of the brain
• It is made up of 6 neuronal cell layers covering the telencephalon
• contains over 95% of the telencephalon’s Neurons

Question 38

How can the Neocortex be divided functionally?

Answer 38

Into areas dealing with sensory, motor and associative function (non-sensory or motor).
The Neocortex is divided into right and left hemispheres and each hemisphere is divided into Lobes.

Question 39

Where is the auditory cortex?

Answer 39

Auditory cortex is in the temporal lobe and deals with sound sensation.

Question 40

Where is the visual cortex?

Answer 40

In the occipital lobe and it handles vision.

Question 41

Where is the soma sensory cortex?

Answer 41

The soma-sensory cortex is in the parietal lobe and it processes input from general body senses such as touch and temperature.

Question 42

Where is the motor cortex?

Answer 42

The motor cortex is in the frontal lobe and it is responsible for controlling movement of the skeletal muscles.

Question 43

What is the associative cortex?

Answer 43

The associative cortex contains higher cognitive functions.

Each lobe of the cerebral hemispheres contains areas of associative cortex, and damage can lead to cognitive impairment.