The Nervous System Flashcards
Name the 2 components of the central nervous system.
Brain and spinal cord
State the 2 branches of the peripheral nervous system.
Somatic and autonomic
What is the function of sensory neurones?
Carry impulses from sense organs to the CNS
What is the function of motor neurones?
Carry impulses from the CNS to the effectors (muscles/glands)
State the 2 branches of the autonomic nervous system.
sympathetic and parasympathetic
What effect does the sympathetic nervous system have on heart rate?
Increases
What effect does the sympathetic nervous system have on breathing rate?
Increases
What effect does the sympathetic nervous system have on peristalsis?
decreases
What effect does the parasympathetic nervous system have on peristalsis?
increases
What effect does the parasympathetic nervous system have on heart rate and breathing rate?
decreases
What term is used to describe the opposite actions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system?
antagonistic
What is a diverging neural pathway?
An impulse that travels from one neurone to many neurons (diverges)
What is a converging neural pathway?
When the weak impulses from a number of neurones converge into one neurone
Name the 3 different types of neural pathways?
diverging, converging and reverberating
What is a reverberating neural pathway?
It is a neural pathway that repeats itself
