Revision for Test One (NS, Brain, Genes, Hormones, Drugs, Heredity) Flashcards
Central Nervous System (Structure)
Brain & Spinal cord
Central Nervous System (Function)
Receives & Transmits info to and from PNS
Brain (Structure)
3 parts; Forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain
Brain (Function)
Command & Control Centre
Spinal Cord (Function)
Receives info from PNS, transmits it to the CNS; Receives info from the brain, sends it to other parts of the body (via PNS)
Peripheral NS (Structure)
All other nerves; Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord
Peripheral NS (Function)
Transmits messages to and from the CNS
Somatic NS (Function)
Receives sensory info from organs (e.g. skin & ears) and communicates info via the sensory nerves to the CNS & motor messages from the CNS to skeletal muscles.
Autonomic NS (Structure)
System of nerves connected to the heart, glands and smooth muscles
Autonomic NS (Function)
Network of neurons transmitting messages between brain and smooth muscles (found in heart, lungs, blood vessels & glands) via the spinal cord; Involuntary moves.
Autonomic NS (Function)
Network of neurons transmitting messages between brain and smooth muscles (found in heart, lungs, blood vessels & glands) via the spinal cord; Involuntary moves.
Sympathetic NS (function)
Arouses body to perform, act or react; fight, flight or freeze.
Parasympathetic (function)
Calms the body down to conserve energy; Rest & Digest; Takes over for normal day-to-day living & maintains normal bodily functions
Frontal Lobe (Role & what this lobe contains)
Voluntary movement, language & managing higher-level executive functions.
Contains:
Broca’s Area
Primary Motor Cortex
Broca’s Area
Speech Production - regulates breathing patterns while speaking and vocalisations required for normal speech.
Primary Motor Cortex
Control voluntary movements through control of skeletal muscles
Parietal Lobe (Role & what this lobe contains)
Processes bodily sensations (touch (pressure and temp)) Helps you to understand where you are in relation to other things that your senses are picking up around you. SPATIAL AWARENESS
Contains:
Primary sensory cortex
Primary Sensory Cortex
Receives sensory input from the somatic senses & contributes to the integration of sensory and motor signals necessary for skilled movement.
Occipital Lobe (Role & what this lobe contains)
Vision (Visual perception)
Contains:
Primary Visual Cortex
Primary Visual Cortex
Receives, segments and integrates visual information
(Processes the visual information to be sent to another area of the brain)
Temporal Lobe (Role & what this lobe contains)
Processes auditory information and the encoding of memory.
Contains:
Wernicke’s area
Primary Auditory Cortex
Wernicke’s area
Comprehension of speech (area contains motor neurons) connected to Broca’s Area through the ARCUATE FASCICULUS
Primary Auditory Cortex
Integrating and processing complex auditory signals
Epigenetics
Study of the transmission of information from one generation to the next through genetic inheritance that affects the traits of the offspring without alteration of the DNA or alteration that occurs from environmental factors.
Adrenaline (effects) Is it a neurotransmitter or a hormone?
Both.
Effects as:
Neurotransmitter: metabolism, attention, focus, panic and excitement (small amount produced)
Hormone: (EPINEPHRINE) responder to stress - causes a fight, flight or freeze response.
Noradrenaline (effects) Is it a neurotransmitter or a hormone?
Acts as both
Is a chemical messenger that helps transmit nerve signals across nerve endings to another nerve cell, muscle cell or gland cell.
Increases & maintains blood pressure, increases blood sugar levels to provide more energy to the body
3 Differences between Noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and Adrenaline (epinephrine)
- N has a more specific action, working mainly on alpha receptors to increase and maintain blood pressure VS. E(pinephrine) has more wide-ranging effects.
- N is continuously released into circulation at LOW levels VS. E is only released during times of stress.
- N is both a hormone & neurotransmitter of the sympathetic NS VS. E is mainly made in the adrenal medulla so acts more like a hormone, but small amounts are made in nerve fibres acting as a neurotransmitter.
3 Differences between Noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and Adrenaline (epinephrine)
- N has a more specific action, working mainly on alpha receptors to increase and maintain blood pressure VS. E(pinephrine) has more wide-ranging effects.
- N is continuously released into circulation at LOW levels VS. E is only released during times of stress.
- N is both a hormone & neurotransmitter of the sympathetic NS VS. E is mainly made in the adrenal medulla so acts more like a hormone, but small amounts are made in nerve fibres acting as a neurotransmitter
Psychoactive Drugs
Substances that affect mental processes
Depressant Def & example
Calms activity of NS & slows the body’s functions
- Alcohol
Stimulants Def & Example
Excites the NS & arouse body function
- Caffeine
Hallucinogens Def & example
Change our perceptions & gives use sensory images without input from the senses themselves
- LSD
Broca’s Aphasia
Defict in language production
Reticular Formation
Complex network of brainstem nuclei and neurons that serve as a major integration and relay centre for vital brain systems to coordinate functions necessary for survival.
Aphasia
Inability to comprehend or formulate language due to damage to specific brain regions.
Broca’s Aphasia
Aphasia type characterised by partial loss of the ability to produce language (manual, spoken and written) - comprehension generally remains intact.
Exhibits:
Effortful speech - includes important content words but leaves out function words that have more grammatical significance than physical meaning such as prepositions and articles.
Alexia
Inability to comprehend written material.
Ability to write and the spell is intact - but unable to spontaneously read (even if written seconds ago).
Other features of language such as speech comprehension are usually intact.
Damage most often involves the left occipital lobe.
Agraphia
Acquired neurological disorder
Loss in ability to communicate through writing (due to some form of motor dysfunction or inability to spell).
Causes:
Strokes, lesions, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.
- There are many causes.
Wernicke’s Aphasia
Ability to grasp the meaning of spoken words and sentences is impaired but ease of producing connected speech is not very affected.
- Can produce many words (grammatically correct w/ normal rate) but they often don’t make sense or sentences are peppered with non-existent or irrelevant words.
- May fail to realise they’re using the wrong words and not fully aware that what they say doesn’t make sense.
Heredity def
Passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic information of their parents
Hormone
Chemical messengers produced by the endocrine glands.
Travel through bloodstream and affects other parts of the body.
In the brain they influence interest in food, sex, our moods and our growth.
Hippocampus Function
regulating LEARNING, MEMORY encoding, MEMORY consolidation and SPATIAL navigation
Limbic system
Part of brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses (survival functions - feeding, repro, caring for young & fight or flight responses)
Sensory Neuron
Sends sensory signals from sensory organs to CNS
Motor Neurons
Sends motor commands from the CNS to sensory organs to initiate actions
What Neurotransmitter do both Somatic & Autonomic have?
ACETYLCHOLINE
Serotonin
Controls mood and is responsible for happiness
Dopamine
Allows you to feel pleasure, satisfaction and motivation
