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Unit 3/4 Psych > Unit 3 AOS 1 - The Nervous System & Stress > Flashcards

Unit 3 AOS 1 - The Nervous System & Stress Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the main two divisions of the nervous system?

A

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

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2
Q

What makes up the CNS?

A

The brain & spinal cord.

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3
Q

What makes up the PNS?

A

The somatic nervous system & autonomic nervous system.

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4
Q

What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

A

The sympathetic nervous system & the parasympathetic nervous system.

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5
Q

What is the somatic nervous system used for?

A

Movement of the skeletal muscles. (Voluntary movement)

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6
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system used for?

A

Involuntary movement. (such as breathing, the beating of the heart)

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7
Q

What is the sympathetic nervous system used for?

A

The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the flight or flight response.

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8
Q

What is the parasympathetic nervous system used for?

A

Returning the body to homoeostasis.

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9
Q

What are the different types of neurons?

A

Sensory neurons

Motor Neurons

Interneurons

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10
Q

What direction does each neuron type communicate in?

A

Sensory > Afferent direction toward the CNS from the PNS.

Motor > Efferent direction from the CNS toward the effector site, such as a muscle or gland.

Inter > Located in the spinal cord, messages can travel in either afferent or efferent directions.

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11
Q

Outline the process of neural transmission.

A
  1. External stimuli are picked up by receptors.
  2. Sensory neurons carry the message through the PNS to the CNS.
  3. The brain processes the information and sends a response via motor neurons out into the PNS, toward the effector site which will then perform a responsive action.
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12
Q

What occurs to an individual when the sympathetic nervous system is activated during the fight/flight response?

A

Pupils dilate

Increased heart rate

Increased breathing rate

Increased glucose release

Bladder relaxation

Digestion stops

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13
Q

What is the spinal reflex?

A

An unconscious response to stimuli which, despite being unconscious, is still controlled by the somatic nervous system.

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14
Q

What are the steps of the spinal reflex?

A
  1. The receptors detect the stimulus.
  2. Sensory information is transmitted via afferent sensory neurons toward the CNS.
  3. Interneurons within the spinal cord intercept the transmission and initiate an immediate response.
  4. A message is sent to the skeletal muscles via motor neurons in an efferent direction so that an action may be carried out.
  5. The original message that was intercepted is received by the brain and processed.
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15
Q

What is a neuron?

A

A nerve cell that receives, processes and transmits information. Neurons can form connections with each other known as synapses, which allow them to communicate with each other, as well as with muscles and glands.

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16
Q

Label the part of a neuron.

A

Dendrites

Cell Body (Soma)

Axon

Axon Terminal

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17
Q

What do dendrites do?

A

Dendrites receive messages from other cells and pick up information through receptor sites found on the dendrite surface.

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18
Q

What does the cell body do?

A

Converts the neurotransmitter (chemical) message into an electrical message (action potential).

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19
Q

What does the axon do?

A

Carries the action potential down the neuron from one end to the other.

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20
Q

What do axon terminals do?

A

Receive the action potential. When an electrical impulse arrives, neurotransmitters are released from vesicles into the synaptic gap.

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21
Q

What makes up a synapse?

A

The axon terminal of the pre-synaptic neuron, the synaptic gap, and the dendrite of the post-synaptic neuron.

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22
Q

What is a vesicle?

A

Vesicles are found in axon terminals and contain neurotransmitters.

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23
Q

What is a neurotransmitter?

A

A neurochemical that sends information across a singular synapse.

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24
Q

Explain the ‘lock and key’ process.

A

Neurochemicals have particular molecular shape, which is complementary to certain receptors found on dendrites. Once a neurochemical is released across the synapse, it will bind with the complementary receptor.

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25
Q

What are inhibitory/exhibitory effects?

A

Inhibitory > The neuron is less likely to fire an action potential.

Exhibitory > The neuron is more likely to fire an action potential.

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26
Q

What is a neuromodulator?

A

A neurochemical that spreads out and sends information across multiple synapses.

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27
Q

What can neuromodulators do?

A

They may change the responsiveness of receptor sites, making them more or less sensitive to the effects of neurotransmitters.

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28
Q

List two neuromodulators.

A

Dopamine & Serotonin

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29
Q

Discuss the effects of dopamine.

A

Dopamine will exhibit either excitatory OR inhibitory effects. Dopamine is also involved with voluntary motor movement and motivation.

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30
Q

Discuss the effects of serotonin.

A

Serotonin has primarily inhibitory effects. It is responsible for the regulation of mood and sleep.

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31
Q

List two neurotransmitters.

A

Glutamate & GABA

32
Q

Discuss the effects of glutamate.

A

Glutamate has excitatory effects. Glutamate assists in learning.

33
Q

Discuss the effects of GABA.

A

GABA has inhibitory effects.

34
Q

What is synaptic plasticity and when does it occur?

A

Structural changes to the brain may occur during learning, after brain damage, or when certain neural pathways are less frequently stimulated. Synaptic plasticity also occurs during human development.

35
Q

List three main types of synaptic plasticity.

A

Sprouting, Rerouting & Pruning.

36
Q

Describe sprouting.

A

The development of more dendrites or axon terminals. These new branches can make new synaptic connections. The development of new synapses is referred to as synaptogenesis.

37
Q

Describe rerouting.

A

Changing neural connections around to form new pathways. This typically occurs if a neuron becomes damaged.

38
Q

Describe pruning.

A

A reduction in synaptic connections when the stimulation of a synapse is weakened over time.

39
Q

Discuss Long Term Potentiation (LTP).

A

LTP is the strengthening of synapses in response to repeated stimulation. This involves the increasing of neurotransmitters, the development of more receptors, and the growth of bushier dendrites. This increases the efficiency of transmission.

40
Q

Discuss Long Term Depression (LTD).

A

LTD is the opposite of LTP. When synapses are less frequently stimulated, the signals within the synapse weaken. This reduces the number of neurotransmitters forming, and prunes dendrites and receptors.

41
Q

Provide an overview of stress.

A

Stress is subjective to an individual, and is psychobiological in nature. The biological processes involved in stress are involuntary, and the psychological responses involve emotional and cognitive changes.

42
Q

What is a stressor?

A

Stressors are the cause of the stress response. They may either be internal or external.

43
Q

What is acute stress?

A

Stress which short, and potentially beneficial (eustress, adrenalin release). An example is the fight/flight/freeze response.

44
Q

What is chronic stress?

A

Stress is cumulative and associated with ongoing pressure. This form of stress is harmful and involves the release of cortisol.

45
Q

What is eustress?

A

A positive perception of stress.

46
Q

What is distress?

A

A negative perception of stress.

47
Q

Discuss the fight/flight/freeze response.

A

The FFF response is a physical response to a perceived threat. For the fight and flight portion of the response, the sympathetic nervous system is dominant. For the freeze portion, the parasympathetic nervous system is dominant.

48
Q

What is cortisol?

A

A hormone released during chronic stress. It maintains arousal to aid the body through the continuous dealing with stress.

49
Q

What does cortisol do?

A

It energises the body to deal with stress by increasing glucose in the blood.

It turns off unnecessary body systems during the time.

50
Q

What are the side effects of prolonged cortisol release?

A

It inhibits the immune system, raising susceptibility to illness.

51
Q

Describe the HPA axis.

A

This is the process by which cortisol is released:

The hypothalamus sends a message to the pituitary gland, which sends a message to the adrenal glands. Cortisol is then released through the adrenal glands.

52
Q

What is the GAS model?

A

The General Adaption syndrome model displays the process of stress biologically.

53
Q

What are the four stages of the GAS model?

A
  1. Alarm Rection: Subdivided into Shock and Countershock.
  2. Resistance Stage
  3. Exhaustion Stage
54
Q

Describe the shock section of the alarm reaction stage.

A

Heart rate slows, breathing slows, and body temperature drops. The parasympathetic nervous system is dominant, this is the freeze response.

55
Q

Describe the countershock section of the alarm reaction stage.

A

The sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant as the flight or flight response kicks in. Cortisol begins to release between this section of alarm reaction, and stage 2.

56
Q

Describe the resistance stage.

A

Cortisol is being released, and by extension, so is glucose. An individual’s ability to deal with stress rises. During the second half of this stage, cortisol begins to affect other bodily systems. The immune system is suppressed, and colds are likely to be contracted.

57
Q

Describe the exhaustion stage.

A

Energy resources have become depleted, the immune system is severely suppressed, and the body has become susceptible to conditions such as type II diabetes, chronic headaches, and chronic fatigue.

58
Q

What are the strengths of the GAS model?

A

It measures a predictable pattern.

It tracks biological patterns.

It discovered that the greater the intensity of the stressor, the greater the physiological response.

59
Q

What are the limitations of the GAS model?

A

Research for the model was not conducted on humans.

It does not account for individual differences and psychological factors.

60
Q

What is the transactional model’s full name?

A

Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress of stress and coping.

61
Q

What is the transactional model?

A

It tracks the psychological appraisal of stress

62
Q

What occurs during the primary appraisal?

A

This is where an individual evaluates a stressor. This occurs unconsciously. They may categorise the stressor as either benign (eustress), not stressful, irrelevant, or stressful.

If it is categorised as stressful, it is further categorised as either a threat (will occur), harm/loss (has occurred), or a challenge (eustress).

If it is either harm/loss or a threat, a secondary appraisal will occur. Situationally, one may also occur for challenge.

63
Q

What occurs during the secondary appraisal?

A

This occurs consciously and involves deciding whether an individual has the resources to cope with the stressor. if the answer is yes, the stressor is reevaluated as not stressful. If it is no, the stress response will be experienced. The secondary and primary appraisals may occur simultaneously.

64
Q

What are the two coping strategies for dealing with stress?

A

Avoidant strategies & Approach strategies.

65
Q

What is an approach strategy?

A

A strategy that reduces or eliminates a stressor through confrontation with the stressor. This is a direct coping mechanism. This may also be referred to as problem-focused coping.

66
Q

What is an avoidant strategy?

A

A strategy that aims to reduce the stress response, without affecting the stressor. This is appropriate if there is no way to directly confront and deal with the stressor. Otherwise, this is maladaptive and can make the stressor worse. This is an indirect coping mechanism. This may also be referred to as emotion-focused coping.

67
Q

What is context specific effectiveness?

A

The ability to choose the appropriate coping strategy for the given stressor.

68
Q

What is coping flexibility?

A

The ability to recognise when a strategy is not working or the demands of the stressor have changed.

69
Q

What is the gut-brain axis?

A

This refers to the bidirectional relationship between the brain and the gut, as connected via the vagus nerve.

70
Q

What is the enteric nervous system?

A

The nerve pathways within the gastrointestinal tract (GI) that link to the brain.

71
Q

What is the microbiome?

A

The environment within the gut. It contains microbiota (living organisms within the gut).

72
Q

Discuss the relationship between a healthy microbiome and mental health.

A

A healthy microbiome stimulates the brain and is influential for positive mental health.

73
Q

What foods are good for gut health?

A

Fermented food

Food containing bacteria

Kimchi

Miso Soup

Saurkraut

Probiotics

74
Q

What foods are bad for gut health?

A

Antibiotics

High sugar foods

High-fat foods

75
Q

What term describes an imbalance of good and bad gut bacteria?

A

Dysbiosis.

Unit 3/4 Psych (5 decks)

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