psych (unit 1) exam flashcards
what are the 3 main functions of the nervous system?
- to recieve info
- to process info
- to respond to info
what does c.n.s. stand for?
central nervous system
what does p.n.s. stand for?
peripheral nervous system
what are the parts of the c.n.s?
- spinal cord
- brain
what are the parts of the p.n.s?
- somatic nervous system
- autonomic nervous system (a.n.s)
what are the parts of the a.n.s?
- sympathetic nervous system
- parasympathetic nervous system
what is the function of the c.n.s.?
central to all our mental processes + behaviours.
it processes info received through sensory systems and activates appropriate actions.
what is the brain?
intricate network of cells that play an important role in processing info received through nerve pathways, and directing responses.
what is the spinal cord?
long, thin bundle of nerve tissue that extends from the base of the brain to the lower back. receives sensory neurons from the body and sends it to the brain. receives motor neurons from the brain and sends it to the body.
what are afferent neurons also known as?
sensory neurons
what are efferent neurons also known as?
motor neurons
what is a spinal reflex?
involuntary movement that occurs in response to certain stimuli without the involvement of the brain.
how does a spinal reflex occur?
- touch something hot
- nerves send a message via sensory neurons to CNS (spinal cord).
- spinal cord sends immediately sends motor neuron to the muscle in your arm/hand to contract from source of harm.
- whilst this is happening, the sensory neuron sends a message to the brain which becomes aware of the stimulus and triggers the reaction of pain.
what is the somatic nervous system?
network of nerves that carry sensory info to the CNS and motor info from the CNS.
what is the autonomic nervous system?
network of nerves that carries messages between the CNS and the heart, lungs + other internal organs/glands.
what is the sympathetic nervous system?
arouses the body when we experience an extreme emotion (fight/flight)
what is the parasympathetic nervous system?
calms of restores the body to its normal state (rest/digest)
what is a dendrite?
thin extension of the neuron that recieves information from other neurons and transmits info to the soma.
what is the soma?
the cell body of the neuron that combines neural info received from many dendrites and sends info to the axon.
what is the axon?
single, tube-like extension of a neuron that transmits neural information away from the soma to other neurons.
what is myelin?
a white, fatty substance that coats a neuron’s axon and insulate it from the activity of other nearby axons.
what are the nodes of ranvier?
small gaps on a neuron’s axon in which myelin is missing. these increase the speed of the action.
what are the axon terminals?
located at the end of an axon, these contain a synaptic button which secretes a neurotransmitter across the gap between the end of one neuron and the beginning of another (known as the synaptic gap).
what are glial cells?
specialised cells located in both nervous systems that surround neurons to support them in neural functioning.
what is the hindbrain? what parts does this include?
a collection of lower level brain structures including the cerebellum, medulla + pons.
what is the role of the cerebellum?
coordinates fine muscle movements + regulates posture and balance. damage to this makes muscle control coordination difficult.
cerebellum – movement
what is the role of the medulla?
continuation of the spinal cord: controls vital bodily functions such as swallowing, breathing, heart rate, etc .
medulla – vital
what is the role of the pons?
involved in sleep, dreaming + waking. connects other parts of the brain together by relaying messages between the cerebral cortex + cerebellum, and between the medulla + midbrain.
pons – sleep + relay
what is the midbrain? what does it include?
receives lots of information from the ears + eyes and processes this to help produce orienting movements (reticular formation)
what is the role of the reticular formation?
screens incoming information so the brain doesn’t overload. it alerts higher brain centres of important information, and helps maintain consciousness.
reticular formation – screen + alert
what is the forebrain? what does it include?
collection of upper level structures that regulates complex cognitive processes, emotion + personality. it includes the hypothalamus, thalamus and the cerebrum.
what is the role of the hypothalamus?
maintain’s the body’s internal environment, regulates the release of hormones, and influences behaviours associated with basic biological needs.
hypothalamus – biological
what is the role of the thalamus?
filters information from all sense receptor sites (except the nose) and sends it to relevant areas of the brain for further processing. it filters vast amounts of incoming sensory information.
thalamus – filter
what is the role of the cerebrum?
consists of an outer cerebral cortex + masses of neural tissue where neurons form connections with each other. divided into two cerebral hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum.
define hemispheric specialisation.
the idea that one hemisphere has specialised functions over the other (hemispheric dominance)
name some hemispheric specialisations of the right hemisphere.
- recieves + processes sensations from the LEFT side of the body
- control voluntary movements on LEFT side of body
- spatial + visual thinking
- recognising emotions
- appreciation of art + music
name some hemispheric specialisations of the left hemisphere.
- recieves + processes sensations from the RIGHT side of the body
- control voluntary movements on the RIGHT side of body
- verbal tasks
- analysis
- logical reasoning
define cortical lobes.
four areas of the cerebral cortex associated with different functions.
where is the frontal lobe located?
on the left side of the brain.
what is the role of the premotor cortex? what cortical lobe is it located in?
the premotor cortex is located in the frontal lobe. it is responsible for planning appropriate movement and sending information to the primary motor cortex.
what is the role of the primary motor cortex? what cortical lobe is it located in?
the primary motor cortex is located in the frontal lobe. it is responsible for initiating and controlling voluntary movements through it’s control of skeletal muscles.
what is the role of the prefrontal cortex? what cortical lobe is it located in?
the prefrontal cortex is located in the frontal lobe. it is responsible for sophisticated mental abilities including reasoning, planning, problem solving, symbolic thinking, and emotional reaction.
what is the role of broca’s area? what cortical lobe is it located in?
broca’s area is located in the left frontal lobe. it is involved with the production of articulate speech.
where is the parietal lobe located?
at the top of the brain.
what is the role of the parietal lobe?
receiving and processing somatosensory information.
define somatosensory.
relating to a sensation (pressure, pain, warmth) which can occur anywhere in the body in contrast to one only occurring at a sense organ.
what is the role of the primary somatosensory cortex? what cortical lobe is it located in?
the primary somatosensory cortex is located in the parietal lobe. it is responsible for receiving + processing sensory information from the skin + body parts.
where is the occipital lobe located?
at the back of the brain.