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VCE Psychology > U3AOS1 - Nervous System And Brain Structure > Flashcards

U3AOS1 - Nervous System And Brain Structure Flashcards

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1
Q

nervous system division

A

central nervous system

  • brain (forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain)
  • spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

  • somatic (sensory and motor nervous systems)
  • autonomic (parasympathetic and sympathetic)

*neuroimaging has allowed scientists to observe parts of the brain that are active during different types of cognitive processes // the brain does not act in isolation but receives information from all around the body

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2
Q

central nervous system

A
  • comprises of the brain and spinal cord

- enables the brain to communicate with the rest of the body conveying messages to the peripheral system

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3
Q

brain

A
  • made up of forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain
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4
Q

hindbrain

A
  • the link between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain

- important for movement and balance

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5
Q

midbrain

A
  • coordinates movement, sleep and arousal
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6
Q

forebrain

A
  • responsible for receiving and processing sensory information
  • higher order thinking involving problem-solving, planning, memory, language and emotions
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7
Q

spinal cord

A
  • runs from the base of the brain (brain stem) inside the vertebrae to the lower middle section
  • the upper section is responsible for communication between the brain and the upper parts of the body
  • the lower section is responsible for communication between the brain and the lower parts of the body
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8
Q

peripheral nervous system

A
  • works with the central nervous system to enable you to interact with the environment
  • also has sensory neurons which convey sensations to the brain
  • has two subdivisions (somatic and autonomic)
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9
Q

somatic

A
  • controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles (has motor neurons in it)
  • also has sensory neurons which convey sensations to the brain
  • the motor neurons communicate messages from the central nervous system to the particular muscles which an organism intends to move at a specific moment
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10
Q

autonomic

A

mostly responsible for communication between the central nervous system and the body’s non skeletal muscles

  • operates most of the time without conscious awareness or voluntary control
  • it pays attention to responding to threats within an environment and protects the body
  • the parts of the autonomic system can be voluntarily influenced sometimes (such as breathing)
  • is made up of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
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11
Q

the muscles and glands which the autonomic system controls

A

muscles

  • the skin
  • around the blood vessels
  • around the eye
  • in the stomach, intestines and bladder
  • the heart muscles
  • gastrointestinal tract
  • gall bladder
  • liver

glands

  • pancreas
  • adrenal medulla (adrenal gland)
  • sweat gland
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12
Q

sympathetic

A
  • acts like an emergency system and becomes active when threatened
  • prepares the body for action according to the flight-fright-freeze response
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13
Q

parasympathetic

A
  • operates in relatively calm circumstances

- responsible for homeostasis (maintaining balance in day-to-day functions)

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14
Q

actions of the sympathetic system

A
  • dilates pupils
  • no effect on tear glands
  • increases heart rate
  • weak simulation of salivary glands
  • constricts bronchi
  • inhibits stomach and pancreas
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15
Q

actions of the parasympathetic system

A
  • constricts pupils
  • simulates tear glands
  • slows heart rate and dilates arteries
  • strong simulation of salivary glands
  • dialates bronchi
  • simulates stomach and pancreas
  • constricts bladder
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16
Q

cerebral cortex

A
  • integral to understand how we process sensory information
  • it allows us to differentiate between different information, understand the meaning of information, think in abstract and symbolic ways, enables creativity and the use of language such as metaphor
  • the outer surface of the cerebrum itself which is located in the forebrain and separated into left and right cerebral hemispheres (joined by the corpus callosum)
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17
Q

thalamus

A
  • from all sensory receptors except small the signals are sent via the thalamus (in the centre of the brain) for processing and filtering so the information can be relayed to the correct lobe within the brain and then can be processed, interpreted and given meaning
  • gives more or less weight to different sensory information based on how important or urgent it is
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18
Q

lobes of the brain

A
  • the cerebral cortex is divided into four distinct regions or lobes: frontal, occipital, parietal and temporal (named after each plate of the skull protecting it)
  • both the left and right hemispheres have one of these lobes
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19
Q

frontal lobe

A
  • the largest of the lobes and responsible for speech, abstract thought, planning and social skills
  • contains the primary motor cortex (near the rear of the frontal lobe - adjacent to the central fissure)
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20
Q

primary motor cortex

A
  • responsible for moving the skeletal muscles within the body
  • this functions collaterally (the left side controls the right side)
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21
Q

parietal lobe

A
  • the part of the brain behind the frontal lobe but above the temporal and occipital lobes
  • allows us to perceive 3D shapes and designs, your own body, the space around you and the location of objects in the environment
  • contains the primary semantosensory cortex (at the front of the lobe)
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22
Q

primary semantosensory cortex

A
  • responsible for processing sensations such as touch, pressure, temperature and pain
  • this once again happens collaterally (right side controls the left and vice versa)
  • the top controls the bottom of the body and the bottom controls the top (important to know for injury analyses)
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23
Q

temporal lobe

A
  • mainly responsible for processing auditory information

- contains the primary auditory cortex

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24
Q

primary auditory

A

the primary auditory cortex is in the upper part of the temporal loves; this performs complex auditory analysis which enables us to understand human speech and music

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25
Q

occipital lobe

A
  • responsible for vision (left eye is processed in the left lobe)
  • the centre of each retina / visual field is processed in both occipital lobes
  • contains the primary visual cortex
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26
Q

primary visual cortex

A
  • located at the back of the occipital lobes; this processes visual information from the visual fields and helps to give it meaning
27
Q

association areas

A
  • in the cerebal cortex the parts that are not taken up by the lobes are filled up by the association areas
  • neurons in the association areas are less specific in their function than the neurons in the primary cortexes
  • they usually specialise in analysing and interpreting that particular sensory information
  • they may be involved in the integration of information from other senses and memories
28
Q

association areas - list

A

around parietal lobe: integrate sensory information to form a single perception

around temporal lobes: important for the processing and encoding of memory

around frontal lobe: higher order mental processing (planning, attention, reasoning, problem solving and all aspects of personality)

around the occipital lobe: involved with the integration of visual stimuli

29
Q

responses to sensory stimuli

A

conscious: our voluntary actions e.g. when we deliberately choose to avoid a dangerous situation
unconscious: autonomic nervous system directs our unconscious functioning such as heartbeat, temperature and breathing

30
Q

spinal reflexes

A
  • the responses to sensory stimuli which signals danger and is inate and unlearned
  • this bypasses the brain
  • the process of receiving a sensation and responding to it reflexively involves the reflex arc
  • can be monosynaptic and polysynaptic
31
Q

monosynaptic

A
  • involves one synapse where an affector neuron brings a sensation from receptors into the body and an effector neuron carries motor messages to the rest of the body
  • affector: sensation
  • effector: motor
32
Q

polysynaptic

A
  • involving interneurons connecting the affector and effector neurons involving at least two synapses
33
Q

main components of a neuron

A
  • dendrites
  • soma
  • myelin
  • axon terminals
  • terminal buttons
34
Q

dendrites

A
  • receive information from other neurons, they carry from the synapse to the soma
  • the information is also known as neural messages
35
Q

soma

A
  • the largest part of the neuron
  • controls metabolism and maintenance of the neuron
  • receives messages from other neurons
  • main body of the neuron
  • contains the nucleus with the genetic material of the neuron
36
Q

axon

A
  • the nerve fibre that extends from the soma and carries information towards cells that communicate with the neuron
  • the pathway neural messages travel down
  • some axons have one or more offshoots
37
Q

myelin

A
  • most axons are covered with the myelin sheath
  • prevents interference when sending messages (chemical or physical)
  • axons with myelin are white rather than grey
  • speeds up transmission (up to 400km / hour)
  • myelin is fatty tissue
38
Q

axon terminals

A
  • found at the end of the axon branch and function to transmit messages to other neurons
  • contain terminal buttons
  • they are an exit pathway for neural messages
39
Q

transmission

A
  • neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another
  • transmission begins when information is transmitted to dendrites in the form of an electrical impluse the information is passed through the soma and the axon
  • the terminal buttons then secrete neurotransmitters into the synapse (shared with another neuron) and is received by the dendrite
  • this is known as synaptic transmission
40
Q

lock and key process

A
  • neurotransmitters are contained within small sacs known as synaptic vesicles within the terminal buttons of each neurons’ terminal axon
  • when the presynaptic neuron fires the vesicles move towards the presynaptic membrane (the outer coating of the terminal button)
  • some of the vesicles stick to the membrane and break open which releases the neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft
  • some of the neurotransmitters will bind to the protein receptors (the receptors act like locks and can only be opened with the correct ‘key’)
  • when a receptor fits in (has an appropriate molecular structure and electrical charge) the postsynaptic neuron is inhibited or activated
41
Q

synapses

A

when a neuron fires it is either excitatory or inhibatory

  • excitatory causes the neuron to fire
  • inhibatory reduces the liklihood of a neuron firing

when the axon of a neuron fires the terminal buttons of the excitatory synapses release a neurotransmitter that excites postsynaptic neurons or causes it to reach its action potential

how much a neuron will fire depends on the amount of activity of all synapses and how active the soma is

42
Q

action potential

A

a momentary change in electrical signals of a cell that allows a nerve cell to transmit a signal or impulse to another nerve cell

43
Q

glutamate

A
  • excites almost every neuron in the brain and nervous system
  • important role in learning and memory
44
Q

GABA

A
  • has an inhibatory effect on the brain

- important in regulating anxiety

45
Q

neurotransmitters

A

research has identified there are over 100 neurotransmitters in existence some neurotransmitters function as both hormones and neurotransmitters

  • acetylcholine
  • dopamine
  • seretonin
  • GABA
  • nerepinephrine / noradrenaline
  • epinephrine / adrenaline
  • cortisol
  • endorphins
46
Q

acetylcholine

A
  • memory and memory loss
  • muscle movement
  • learning
  • activates cerebral cortex
  • controls REM sleep
  • controls hippocampus
47
Q

dopamine

A
  • emotional arousal
  • pleasure and reward
  • voluntary movement
  • attention
48
Q

seretonin

A
  • regulates mood

- controls eating, sleep, arousal and pain

49
Q

GABA

A
  • main inhibitory neurotransmitter which controls the nervous system
  • regulates anxiety
  • responds to alcohol and benzodiazepines
  • deficiency is related to epilepsy, increase in GABA is known to assist in treating Parkinsons disease
50
Q

glutamate

A
  • excitation of neurons in the nervous system

- necessary for the change in synapses that occur with memory and learning

51
Q

nerepinephrine / noradrenaline

A
  • released by andrenal medulla that affects arousal, anxiety and fear
52
Q

epinephrine / adrenaline

A
  • releasedby andrenal medulla affecting emotional arousal, anxiety and fear
53
Q

cortisol

A
  • repairs the body
54
Q

abnormal levels of neurotransmitters

A 
depression = seretonin
anxiety = GABA
ADHD = seretonin and dopamine
55
Q

parkinsons disease

A
  • having too much or too little of a neurotransmitter in our nervous system can have a significant impact on how we think, feel or behave
  • a CNS degenerative disease characterised by motor and non-motor symptoms
56
Q

parkinsons disease - causes

A
  • motor symptoms from degeneration and loss of neurons in the substantia nigra
  • neurons in the substantia nigra produce dopamine so when the substantia nigra is damaged the amount of dopamine available for motor activity decreases
  • the disease is progressive and symptoms worsen at various rates but progression is not usually rapid
  • described as idiopathic and therefore has ‘no known cause’
  • connected with age and there no genetic predesposition
57
Q

substantia nigra

A
  • located in the midbrain
  • has the role of controlling voluntary muscle movement
  • ensures movement is executed in a smooth, controlled manner
58
Q

parkinsons disease - dopamine

A
  • dopamine carries messages to help control bodily movements
  • the fewer neurons in the substantia nigra the less dopamine that will be produced
  • this means there are fewer messages about motor activity and the motor cortex receives less messages or broken messages therefore it struggles to plan movement or interpret the signals
59
Q

tremors

A
  • continuous shaking of the body / only 30% of people with the condition DON’T have this symptom
  • rhythmic and regular, occurring at a rate of about 4-6 tremors per second
60
Q

postural instability / balance problems and gait disturbances

A
  • steady upright posture or failing to take corrective action to prevent a fall etc.
  • problems in cognitive functioning (slowness of functioning)
61
Q

muscle rigidity

A
  • the muscles seem to be unable to relax and are tight even when at rest
62
Q

slowness of movement

A
  • particularly when initiating an executing movement and performing repetitive movements
  • decrease in fine motor coordination
  • also affects walking, talking, chewing and swallowing
63
Q

parkinsons non motor symptoms

A
  • a decrease in / loss of smell, sweating, increased sensitivity to temperatures, fatigue not resolved by rest and mental health conditions
  • problems in cognitive functioning (slowness of thinking, impaired planning and decision making or memory loss)
64
Q

parkinsons disease - treatments

A
  • no cure but some symptoms can be relived with medication to restore dopamine temporarily either by imitating the role of dopamine or to stimulate the reception of dopamine by neurons causing them to react as they would to dopamine
  • GABA is also released by the midbrain and this should not be overlooked when treating the disease

VCE Psychology (6 decks)

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