The Divisions of the Nervous System Flashcards
What is the biological approach?
Suggests that everything psychological is first biological, so to fully understand human behaviour we must look at biological structures and processes within the body.
What is the nervous system?
Highly specialised set of cells and the primary internal communication system. Made up of billions of neurons.
What are the two main functions of the brain?
To collect, process and respond to information in the environment.
To co-ordinate and direct the working of different organs and cells within the body.
What is the central nervous system made up of?
The brain and spinal cord
What is the peripheral nervous system made up of?
The semantic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system
What is the autonomic nervous system made up of?
The sympathetic branch and para sympathetic branch
What does the brain do?
Centre of all consciousness that controls all behaviours. Involved in all psychological processes. Primitive parts involved in breathing and heartbeat. Higher order thinking such as planning and problem solving.
What is the spinal cord?
Contains a series of neurons and nerve circuitry. Carries messages from the brain to the peripheral nervous system. Allows the brain to monitor bodily processes like breathing and digestion.
What is meant by an arc reflex?
Do not involve conscious part of the brain. The stimulus is picked up by the receptor. An impulse is then transmitted down the sensory neuron to the CNS. The relay neuron takes it through the CNS. The impulse then moves from the CNS to the effector through the motor neuron. The effector then causes a proactive response against the stimulus. The effector can be a muscle or gland.
What is the peripheral nervous system?
All the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. Main function is to relay nerve impulses from the CNS to the rest of the body and back.
What is the somatic nervous system?
Contains both motor and sensory neurons so transmit info to and from the senses and the CNS. Sensory neuron to CNS
Motor neurons from CNS.
Controls voluntary movements, skeletal muscles and bones. The control centre is the motor cortex. Also involved in arc reflex actions.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
Only contains motor neurons. Contains internal organs and glands that we do not need to be consciously aware of. Transmits to and from internal organs to sustain life processes. The control centre is the brain stem. The two parts of the ANS are responsible for functions that keep the body in a stable state (homeostasis)
What does the somatic nervous system do?
Transmit and receive information about the senses such as visual or auditory - sensory pathways
Motor pathways - direct voluntary movement of skeletal muscles and orchestrates all of our movements from the brain
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
Maintains and conserves body energy and functions. Returns the body to a state of relaxation and decreases bodily activities after activation from the sympathetic branch.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
It prepares the body to expend energy for fight or flight. This involves physiological changes which prepare the body for activity and slows down other non-essential activities.
