PSYCHOBIOLOGY: the nervous system structure Flashcards

1
Q

what is meant by ‘psychology?’

A

the study of the soul & mind
what brains do

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2
Q

describe the dualist approach

A
  • the mind & matter are separate and different
  • the interaction and influence on each other
  • they are a mystery so cannot be studied
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3
Q

describe the materialist approach

A
  • the mind is what brains do
  • it is a mystery that we can investigate
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4
Q

what is ‘psychobiology’?

A

the study of the biological basis of human behaviour which studies the ‘how’ of behaviour

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5
Q

what is ‘behaviour’?

A

an organism’s internally coordinated response to stimuli in the internal / external environment

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6
Q

describe the 3 systems influenced by the environment

A
  • immune: protects body from infection
  • endocrine: maintains & regulates internal state
  • nervous: controls activity by coordinating rapid & precise responses to stimuli
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7
Q

what are the 3 steps of behaviour?

A
  • register information
  • internal change
  • response
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8
Q

what is a complex behaviour?

A

combining inputs to generate a variety of outputs

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9
Q

how do single cell organisms register

A

molecule attaches to cell membrane

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10
Q

how do single cell organisms transform the information

A

a chemical change at the cell membrane leads to a simple chemical change cascade inside the cell in a cyclic chain which feeds back on itself

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11
Q

what is the single cell organisms responses

A

responses are direct results of particular behaviours

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12
Q

how do complex organisms register

A

molecule attaches to receptor cell membrane

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13
Q

how do complex organisms transform information

A

a chemical change at the membrane leads to a chemical change cascade inside the cell, causing chemical changes in other nerve cells so that the nerve impulse is transmitted along neural pathways

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14
Q

what is the complex organisms response

A

output system activation, many different outputs

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15
Q

what is the only animal which does not have a nervous system?

A

sponges

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16
Q

what is a nervous system?

A

a network of electro chemically active cells which are specialised to communicate with each other

17
Q

what is a centralised nervous system?

A

central and peripheral nervous systems are separate
- functionally more hierarchically organised
- brain specialised to organise and direct neuronal communication

18
Q

what is an uncentralised nervous system?

A

simplest form
- no nerve control centre
- no control of other neuron’s or distant body part actions

19
Q

what is the CNS?

A

brain, CNS & spinal cord
encased in bones

20
Q

what is the PNS

A

peripheral nervous system

21
Q

describe the PNS when there is input from sense organs

A

somatic nervous system –> output is voluntary from skeletal muscles

22
Q

describe the PNS when there is no external input

A

autonomic NS (automatically controlled) –> sympathetic / parasympathetic –> output is involuntary from muscles and glands

23
Q

sympathetic NS

A

fight or flight

24
Q

parasympathetic NS

A

rest & maintenance

25
what is behaviour?
detection, transformation & motor command performed by sensory & motor neurones inside the spinal cord without involving the brain
26
describe the spinal cord & CNS/PNS links
- sensory signals from the body enters the CNS via the spinal cord - motor signals to the body leave the CNS via the spinal cord
27
what is the role of monosynaptic reflexes?
work to resist or dampen quick stretching of skeletal muscle to enable smooth & stable movement without us having to think about it
28
describe the process of monosynaptic reflexes
- muscle spindles inside muscle fibres activate a sensory neurone when muscle is quickly stretched - axons enter spinal cord via the dorsal root - axons connect directly with the motor neurone which sends axons out via the ventral root - the original muscle is activated causing it to contract
29
what is a polysynaptic reflex?
sensory and motor neurones in different locations are connected via one or more interneurons in a flexible arrangement
30
what is a synapse?
signalling link between a neurone and another cell
31
what is a structural synapse?
the specialised sender part of the neutron comes close to the specialised receptor part of a target cell
32
what is a functional synapse?
all neurone contribute to the same signal no matter how many contact points there are - monosynaptic = 1 synapse links the sensory & motor - polysynaptic = several synapses between sensory & motor
33
what is learning?
modifying links between inputs and responses
34
what is a central pattern generator?
spinal cord neurons generate complex movement patterns but cannot voluntarily initiate movement - the patterns are elicited in response to appropriate stimulations
35
what is voluntary control?
initiated and controlled by the brain