UNIT 3 AOS 1 PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
What does the nervous system consist of?
- Central Nervous System
- Peripheral Nervous System
- Autonomic Nervous System
General role of nervous system: (RPC)
Receive, process, co-ordinate a response.
CENTRAL + PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS: What do they do?
Way we process + respond to information (controlled by systems)
Central nervous system: consists of?
Brain (emotions) + spinal cord (things moving in and out to coordinate)
Peripheral nervous system:
Everything beyond the brain + spinal cord
Autonomic nervous system: functions
Regulates essential bodily functions for survival like digestion
Central nervous system: functions
- Receives sensory information from PNS
- Processes information
- Sends motor information to PNS, coordinate a response to information.
Central nervous system: communication around the body through =
Neurons (100 billion in the brain)
Brain responsibility for central nervous system: (responsible for)
- Vital body functions (breathing, heart rate)
- Receiving information (via senses)
- Higher order functions (thinking, planning, etc.)
Spinal cord responsibility in central nervous system:
Sensory messages to brain (speed), takes motor messages back
What is the spinal cord?:
Cable-like column of nerve fibres that extends from the base of the brain to the lower back.
Peripheral nervous system function:
- Sends sensory information to the CNS
- Receives motor information from the CNS
Parts in the peripheral nervous system:
- Muscles
- Organs
- Glands
Nervous systems in Peripheral nervous system:
- Somatic nervous system
- Autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system: functions
Neurons within the body transmit information from receptor sites to the CNS, carry information to the muscles to initiate voluntary/conscious movement
Nervous systems in Autonomic nervous system:
Parasympathetic + sympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system: functions
Prepares the body for action, dealing with potential threat. Activates ‘fight-flight-freeze’ response
Parasympathetic nervous system:
Returns the body to a state of calm following heightened arousal (homeostasis)
Symptoms of sympathetic nervous system:
- Pupils dilate
- Accelerated heartbeat
- Inhibits digestion
Symptoms of parasympathetic nervous system:
- Contracts pupils
- Slows heartbeat
- Stimulates digestion
What are neurons:
‘Building blocks’ of the nervous system, communicates information around the body
Types of neurons:
Motor neurons, sensory neuron, interneuron
Role of neurons:
Reception and transmission of information throughout the nervous system
Forms of transmission of neural messages:
Electrical + chemical signals
Sensory neurons: (afferent neurons)
- Transmit sensory information from your body to your brain
- Done via afferent pathways
Motor neurons: (efferent neurons)
- Transmit motor information from your brain to your body
- Done via efferent pathways
Interneurons:
- Transmit information between sensory and motor neurons
Conscious awareness: examples
Talking, walking, waving
Unconscious awareness:
breathing, stomach contractions
Neuron components:
Dendrite, Soma, Axon, Myelin Sheath, Axon Terminals, Terminal Buttons
Dendrite functions:
Receives incoming neuron messages
Soma functions:
Body of the neuron, contains nucleus with genetic material for the neuron
Axon functions:
Pathway down neural message travels
Myelin sheath functions:
Fatty tissue that encases the axon to aid in speed of transmission
Axon terminals functions:
Exit pathways for neural messages to make their way to the next neuron
Terminal button functions:
Releases neurotransmitter to receiving neuron for communication purposes
Role of neurotransmitters:
Chemical substance released by the terminal button for neural communication
Neurotransmitters effects:
Excitatory and inhibitory effects
Excitatory effects:
Increasing the likelihood that the neuron will fire an action potential
Inhibitory effects:
Decreasing the likelihood that the neuron will fire an action potential
Role of neuromodulators:
- Work together with neurotransmitters to enhance inhibitory and excitatory effects, creates more widespread impacts
- Enhancing signal transmission
Dopamine:
Neuromodulator (drive, motivation, motor movement)
Serotonin:
Neuromodulator (mood stabilizer, happiness, metabolism)
How neurotransmitters and neuromodulators work together:
Enhance our function, exacerbate negative impacts
Types of plasticity:
Neuroplasticity, synaptic plasticity, brain plasticity.
Long-term potentiation:
Increase in synaptic strength through high frequency stimulation of the neural pathway
Long-term depression:
Reduction of the efficiency of synaptic connections
Neuroplasticity:
Brain’s ability to change itself as a result of experience
Types of neuroplasticity:
Developmental, adaptive
Synaptic plasticity:
Ability of synaptic connections to change overtime in response to experience
Brain plasticity:
Enables faster response times
Neural process:
Proliferation > migration > circuit formation > circuit pruning > myelination
Proliferation:
making more neurons, enhance and create neurons
Migration:
moving neurons to areas needed the most
Circuit formation:
creation of synapse, (if strong, they would myelinate the synapse, if not it is pruned)
Circuit pruning:
Myelination:
Synaptic plasticity: neural processes:
sprouting rerouting, pruning
Sprouting:
creation of new connections between neurons
Rerouting:
re-establishing neural connections by creating alternative pathways
Pruning:
removing old neural connections that are not activated
Stress:
Psychological + physiological state of tension in response to a stimulus
Types of stress:
Eustress, distress, acute stress, chronic stress
Eustress:
Positive stress. Enhances performance, experience, and memory
Distress:
Negative stress. Limits performance, unable to think clearly.
Acute stress:
happens for a short period of time (upcoming SAC stress, etc.)
Chronic stress:
happens for a long period of time (impact to living, resources depleted, etc.)
Stressors:
Internal + external stressors
Internal stressors:
physiological or psychological
External stressors:
result of daily pressures/life events
Examples of internal stressors:
Hunger, illness, low self-esteem
Examples of external stressors:
overworking, upcoming exam, relationship conflicts
Examples of physiological stress responses:
Headaches, heart palpitations, heart attack
Examples of psychological stress responses:
Behavioural: eating habits, changes to sleep
Emotional: irritability, aggression
Cognitive: Decreased concentration, memory impairment
Factors that influence stress:
- Optimism v pessimism
- Risk-taking + challenges
Elements of the transactional model:
Primary appraisal: individual’s assessment of the situation
Secondary appraisal: individual’s assessment of the available resources to deal with demands
Strengths of the transactional model:
Responds to changes in an individuals response through the reappraisal stage, explains why differences can occur within an individuals response to situations
Limitations of the transactional model:
Lack of empirical evidence, due to the subjective nature of data collected
Overlap between primary and secondary appraisal stages, less discrete and reoccur more simultaneously than the model suggests
The gut-brain axis:
Bidirectional connection between the gut and the brain through multiple parts of the nervous system.
Continuous development:
Gradual, ongoing process of change
Discontinuous development:
Process that involves several stages, different abilities in each stage.
Psychological development:
Changes that occur in our minds over our lifespans from birth to death. (Thoughts, feelings)
SAME:
sensory = afferent
motor = efferent
