The Brain and Neuropsychology Flashcards
What is the nervous system?
Complex network of nerve fibres and nerve cells which pass info around the body.
Complicated, divided into 2 sectors
What 2 sections is the nervous system divided into?
- Central nervous system (CNS)
- Peripheral Nervous Sytem (PNS)
What is the CNS divded into and what does it do?
- Brain
- Spinal cord
- coordinates incoming info and makes decisions about movement/other
What is the PNS divided into and what does it do?
- Somatic nervous system
- pass info to and from the CNS using motor and sensory enurons that are myelinated
What is the autonomic nervous system divided into?
- Sympathetic nervous system
- parasympathetic
Stimulus
smth thats detected by sense receptors, which nervous system will react to
sensory information
info picked up by sense organs of body and passed onto the CNS
What is the SNS?
- made of nerve fibres and neurons that carry msges
- nerve fibres pass info to and from the CNS using sensory and motor neurons
- These are myelinated (fatty wrapping) -helps msg travel faster
Whats the ANS?
- deals with automatic functions like breathing
- our feelings and the way we react in threat situations
- divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic
Order of stimulus to response
sense organs eg eyes –> stimulus
sensory receptors –> sensory neurones
CNS –> spinal cord –> motor neurons –> response
What is the sympathetic division of ANS?
- activated when we feel “under threat”
- prepares body for a state of psychological arousal during “fight or flight”
What is the parasympathetic division of ANS?
- produces oppeffect of sympathetic system
- allows body return to normal resting state after threat has passed
- allows body to store up energy when not under threat
What happens during a fight or flight response?
- hypothalamus detects threat
- respons by instructing sympathetic or parasympathetic NS (ANS) to act
- ANS switches from paras. to sym. activity and releases stress hormone adrenaline into blood
- Causes more deep breathing, heart rate increases, pupil dilate, digestive system changes to aid instant energy absorption - all so that its efficient
- This state is maintained by endocrine system - releases adrenaline to keep in aroused state
- Once threat goes away, ANS switches back to parasym. division – relaxation, back to normal
ANS=autonomic nervous system
Describe the James-Lange Theory of Emotion
ao1
- physical changes come first when we experience an event and then comes the emotion linked to it
- 2 men suggested a similar idea around the same time, combined their surnames
- our emotions is just us noticing and interpreting physical changes
- If there is no physical change we notice, there is no emotion
Strengths of James Lange theory
- Real life examples back up the theory eg phobias and panic disorders
3 types of neurons
- sensory
- motor
- relay
synapse
gap between neurons
neurotransmitters
chemicals passed between synpase
describe structure and function of sensory neuron
Function = carry info from sense organs to CNS
* One end of neuron receives info from sense organs, other passes it on to CNS
* Responsible for changing external stimuli from environment to internal stimuli
* long dendrites to connect with cells
* short axons
* cell body with 2 stems on either side
describe structure and function of motor neuron
- stimulate muscle movement
- carry msgs from brain to muscles
- begin in spinal cord, long axon leads to muscles where dendrites connect with muscles
describe structure and function of relay neuron
- ** cell body + surrounded by dendrites**
- make millions of connections between other 2 types of neurons
- pass msgs between neurons within the CNS
excitation
when a neurotransmitter binds with a receptor on the postsynaptic neuron and increases its chance of firing an electrical impulse
inhibition
when a neurotransmitter binds with a receptor on the postsynaptic neuron and decreases its chance of firing an electrical impulse
Process of synaptic transmission
- vesiscles release neurotransmitters
- released into synaptic gap
- some picked up by receptor
- some diffuses
- some go through reuptake - back to original presynaptic neuron