SAC 1 Flashcards
what is the CNS
(Central Nervous System)
the central nervous system is made up of two parts, the brain and the spinal cord.
what are the three types of Neurons?
- Motor Neurons (efferent neurons)
- Sensory neurons (afferent neurons)
- Interneurons
what does a motor neuron do?
transmits messages about motor movement - from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system
what does a sensory neuron do?
transmits neural messages about bodily sensations - from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system
what does an interneuron do?
transfers neural messages between sensory and motor neurons -
(the CNS is made up of interneurons)
what is the PNS?
(Peripheral Nervous System)
transmits neural messages between the CNS and the body
what are the two sectors of the PNS?
- somatic NS (conscious)
- automic NS (unconcious)
what is the somatic NS?
voluentary motor movement + skeletal, muscles
what is the automic NS
involuntary internal responses + visceral muscles, organs and glands
transmits neural messages to the CNS
what does Afferent and Efferent refer to?
in the somatic NS
- Sensory information is called afferent
- Motor information is called efferent
these terms refer to the direction of the neural information flow
what are the divisions of the Automic Nervous System
- sympathetic
- parasympathetic
what does the sympathetic division do?
a division of the automic nervous system
that dominates when under stress - does this by activating internal muscles to act quickly
what does the parasympathetic division do?
a division of the automic ns that dominants in calm - maintains the sense of homeostasis (balance) in normal functioning
the sympathetic NS ____ heart rate and the parasympathetic NS ____ heart rate
- the sympathetic NS accelerates heart rate
- the parasympathetic NS slows heart rate
what is the brains function in the CNS?
the brain receives and processes information from the body - and activates appropriate responses
what is the spinal cords function in the CNS
- receives sensory information and sends to the brain
- receives motor information from the brain and sends to relevant parts of the body
what are neurochemicals?
- neurotransmitters
- neuromodulators
what are neural transmitters?
neural transmitters are chemical molecules that have an effect on one or two post-synaptic neurons - enables rapid communication between two neurons
what are the two kinds of neurotransmitters?
- EXITATORY/gluamate
(increases likely hood) - INHIBITORY/GABA
(decreases likely hood)
what is a Neuromodulator?
modulate neural activity on a larger scale than neurotransmitters, the actions of a neuromodulator are relatively longlasting eg DOPAMINE & SERATONIN
what is dopamine?
a neuromodulator that has inhibitory & excitatory effects
- pleasure, motivation, movement & attention
plays a role in controlling
- memory, mood, sleep, learning & concentration
what is seretonin
a neurotransmitter
that plays a role in controlling
- mood regulation, stabilisation, the sleep wake cycle, appetite, digestion & arousal
what is the reward pathway?
the main job is to make us want to repeat the actions that help us survive
- eating, drinking, friendship, romance
what is long-term potentialation?
SPROUTING
- increased number of receptor sites
- bushier dendrites
- increased number of synaptic connections
what is long-term depression?
PRUNING
- decreased number of receptor sites
- decreased number of dendrites
- decreased number of synaptic connections
what is synaptic plasticity?
the modifying of connections between neurons and the fundamental mechanism of a memory formation that leads to learning
- sprouting, rerouting & pruning
what is stress?
a psychological and physiological experience when something of significance occurs that demands their attention and/or efforts to cope
internal vs external stressor
INTERNAL stressor
- a stimulus from within a persons body that promotes a stress response
EXTERNAL stressor
- a stimulus from outside the body that prompts a stress response
*internal + external stressors can work together
what is the psychological stress response?
- how we process a stressor and is accompanied by different emotion states (sadness or excitement)
- stress response differs between people
what is the physiological stress response?
- how the body reacts to a stressor
- usuallyexperienced in similar ways between different people
- different responses occur based on the length of time the stressor demands attention
what is the FFF response?
- FIGHT
- FLIGHT
- FREEZE
what is general adaption syndrome (GAS)
the experience of stress from a biological standpoint
what are the three steps of GAS
- ALARM REACTION
(shock+ countershock) - RESISTANCE
- EXHAUSTION
what is cortisol?
a hormone that is released in times of stress to aid the body in initiating and maintaining heightened arousal
- involved in both long & short term responses to stress
what does cortisol do?
- helps energise the body by inducing the release of glucose and a rise in blood sugar levels
- released over a prolonged period allowing to deal with stress for longer
- cortisol can suppress the immune system while working at a heightened level
what is coping?
the process of dealing with stress coping mechanisms that directly confront or reduce the source of stress improving overall wellbeing
what is context specific effectiveness in reference to coping?
when the coping strategy or mechanism used is appropriate for the demands of the stressor
(the effectiveness of a strategy varies on situation)
what is coping flexibility?
the ability to adjust or change ones coping strategies, having high levels of coping flexibility ensures context specific effectiveness.
what are approach coping stratergies?
strategies that directly confront or reduce the source of the stress deals with stress in a practical way
(studying for a sac you are stressed about)
what are avoidance coping strategies?
strategies that involve distancing or evading the source of stress, dealing with the more emotional component of stress
(denial, distraction, sleeping)
