the nervous system 3.1

Question 1

the nervous system

Answer 1

• analyses sensory information from the body and the external environment
• it then stores some aspects and makes decisions regarding appropriate responses and behaviours
• it makes motor responses by initiating muscular contractions or hormonal responses by initiating glandular secretions (from endocrine glands)

Question 2

what makes up the human nervous system

Answer 2

the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system

Question 3

what is the central nervous system made up of and it’s function

Answer 3

• the brain and spinal cord
• processing information and connects the brain with the PNS

Question 4

what is the peripheral nervous system made up of and it’s function

Answer 4

• peripheral nerves and is divided into several parts
• carries information to and from all parts of the body

Question 5

how is the PNS function split

Answer 5

those controlled in a mostly voluntary way and those controlled in an involuntary way

Question 6

PNS voluntary actions

Answer 6

-controlled by the somatic nervous system
- SNS contains sensory and motor neurons

Question 7

PNS involuntary actions

Answer 7

• controlled by the autonomic nervous system
• ANS consist of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems which are antagonistic to each other

Question 8

sensory neurons

Answer 8

carry electrical impulses from the receptors in the sense organs to the CNS

Question 9

motor neurons

Answer 9

carry electrical impulses from the CNS to muscles and glands

Question 10

sympathetic system

Answer 10

-speeds up heart rate and breathing rate
- increases blood flow to muscles (vasodilation)
- decreases blood flow to digestive organs (vasoconstriction)
- decreases peristalsis and intestinal secretions

Question 11

parasympathetic system

Answer 11

• slows down heart rate and breathing rate
• decreases blood flow to muscles (vasoconstriction)
• increases blood flow to digestive organs (vasodilation)
• increases peristalsis and intestinal secretions

Question 12

how are neurons connected

Answer 12

connected to each other through synapses and form neural pathways through the nervous system which allows many complex interactions to occur

Question 13

the three main types of neural pathways

Answer 13

converging, diverging and reverberating

Question 14

converging neural pathways

Answer 14

impulses from several neurons travel to one neuron which increases the sensitivity to excitatory or inhibitory signals (rod cells in retina of the eye)

Question 15

diverging neural pathways

Answer 15

impulses from one neuron travel to several neurons so it affects more than one destination at the same time which allows us to coordinate control (threading a needle or writing)

Question 16

reverberating neural pathway

Answer 16

neurons later in the pathway link with earlier neurons, sending the impulses back through the pathway which allows repeated stimulation of the pathway (breathing)