Unit 3 - Adolescents - Part 2 Flashcards
What are the two nervous systems?
Peripheral and central
What are the parts of the central nervous system?
Brain and spinal cord
What is the purpose of the brain?
Integrates homeostasis, perception, movement, intellect and emotions
What are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system?
Somatic and autonomic
What is the function of the somatic nervous system?
- Controls voluntary muscles
- Transmits sensory info to the central nervous system
What is the function of the autonomic nervous system?
- Controls involuntary body functions
What are some examples of involuntary actions?
- Blood pressure
- Pupil size
- Heart rate/beat
- Stomach activity
What are examples of voluntary actions?
- Turning a page
- Posture control
- Balance
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
- Part of the autonomic nervous system
- Prepares the body for fight or flight/emergencies
- Releases adrenaline, increases heart rate, pumps more blood to muscles, increases blood pressure, can stop stomach activity
- Constricts non-vital arteries, relaxes vital arteries
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
- Part of the autonomic nervous system and brother to the sympathetic nervous system
- Relaxes the body after an emergency, conserves energy, aims to recover
- Reduces heart rate, decreases blood pressure
- Releases endorphins
Hindbrain location and structures
- Located at the rear base of the skull
- Cerebellum
- Pons
- Medulla
- Spinal cord
Cerebellum location and function
- Located behind the spinal cord
- Maintaining balance and posture
- Coordinating moment
- Eye movements (dilation)
- Receives impulses from most sensory areas of the body
What would happen if the cerebellum was damaged?
- Tremors, dizziness, vertigo
- Slurred speech, difficulty judging distances
- Slow movement and weak muscles
Pons location and function
- Located on the ventral side of the brain stem and extends slightly into the midbrain
- Bridge between the brain and spinal cord
- Responsible for pain sensations
- Produces sleep chemicals
Medulla location and function
- Located on the ventral side of the spinal cord, inferior to the pons
- Controls breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate
- Swallowing
- Reflexes
Spinal cord location and function
- Located on the inferior extremity of the brain stem
- Information station for the brain to the rest of the body and the body to the brain
- Coordinates reflexes
Midbrain location and structures
- Located superior to the pons at at the topmost part of the brain stem
- Pons
- Medulla
- Reticular activating system (RAS)
- Colliculi
- Tegmentum
- Cerebral peduncle
Reticular activating system (RAS) function
- Alerts the rest of the brain of incoming signals
- involved in the sleep/wake cycle
Forebrain location and structures
- Located all around the central core
Cerebrum - Cortex
Limbic system - Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus
Cerebrum location and function
- Outer layer of the brain but inferior to the cortex
- Control muscle functions
- Controls speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing, and learning
Cerebral cortex location and function
- Outer layer of the brain, superior to the cerebrum
- Gives the ability to learn
- Conscious thought occurs in the cortex
- Stores complex and abstract information - Allows reading