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Psychology > Unit 3 AOS1 Nervous System + Stress > Flashcards

Unit 3 AOS1 Nervous System + Stress Flashcards

Nervous system and Stress

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1
Q

What is a neuron?

A

a neuron is the building block of the human nervous syetm. Neurons are nerve cell that recieve and transmit neural information.

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2
Q

What is a sensory neuron?

A
  • AKA Afferent
  • A sensory neuron is a type of neuron that receives sensory information from the PNS’s reciptor sites and sends the information to the CNS along AFFERENT pathways.
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3
Q

What is a motor neuron?

A
  • AKA Efferent
  • Motor neurons are a type of neuron that carries motor instruction from the CNS to the PNS via EFFERENT pathways to intitiate a movement.
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4
Q

What is a interneuron?

A
  • Only found in the brain and spinal cord
  • Transfers neural information bewteen sensory and motor neurons
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5
Q

What are the structures of a neuron?

A
  • dendrites
  • soma (cell body)
  • nucelus
  • axon
  • myelin sheath
  • axon terminals
  • terminal buttons
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6
Q

What is in the CNS?

A

Brain and spinal cord
- Recieves sensory neural information from and transmits motor messages to the PNS

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7
Q

What makes up the PNS?
What does it do?

A
  • all of the nerves outside of the CNS
  • the Somaic NS (voluntary and reflex actions)
  • The autonomic NS (involuntary)
  • Carries messages between the CNS to all the muscles, organs and glands throughout the body
  • Recieves motor info from the CNS and sends sensor info to the CNS
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8
Q

What makes up the autonomic NS?

A
  • Sympathetic NS (action/ stress)
  • Parasympathetic (calm/relaxation)
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9
Q

What are cranial nerves?

A

nerves apart of the PNS that the brain uses to communcicate directly to various organs and muscles

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10
Q

What is the vagus nerve?

A
  • a cranial nerve that connects the brain directly to the stomach and intestinal tract controlling digestion involving the nerve cells of the enteric NS
  • originates in the brain stem
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11
Q

What is the somatic NS?
What does it do/its role?

A
  • contains sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) neurons
    1. carries Afferent information from the five senses to the CNS
    2. carries Efferent information from the Central NS to the body involving motor (efferent) neurons
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12
Q

What is the Autonomic Nervous System?

A
  • controls the body’s internal environment in an involuntary/autonomous and self-regulated manner
  • it self regulates the body’s internal environment in an involuntary manner.
    *directly connects the CNS to organs, glands and viscera; muscles
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13
Q

What is the sympathetic NS?

A
  • dominates when we are under threat, increasing arousal and preparing the body for a quick response (also known as the Fight flight Freeze Response) from psychological or physiological stressful experience.
  • self regulates the body’s arousal reponse when it is under threat. Prepares the body for a quick response *FFF for survival and defense
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14
Q

What is the Fight- Flight- Freeze Response?

A
  • the body’s natural reaction to danger.
  • fight-or-flight is an active defence response where you fight or flee.
    Your heart rate gets faster, which increases oxygen flow to your major muscles. Your pain perception drops, and your hearing sharpens. When these changes occur, the Sympathetic NS is dominant.
  • Freezing is fight-or-flight on hold, where you further prepare to protect yourself. It’s also called reactive immobility or attentive immobility. You freeze and get ready for the next move
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15
Q

What is the parasympathetic NS?

A
  • helps our body return to its normal state of homeostasis
  • self regulates yhr body back to its baseline physiological levels
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16
Q

What is GABA and its role in the NS?

A
  • main inhibitory neurotransmitter in thre NS
  • it decreases the likelihood of the post synaptic neuron firing
  • useful in the treatment of phobias (calms the NS)
  • supresses/slows neural activity
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17
Q

What is Glutamate and its main role in the NS?

A
  • the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the NS
  • increases the likelihood of the poster synaptic neuron firing the action potential
  • plays an important role in learning and memory - stimulates changes to neural connections
  • activates/stimulates neural activity
18
Q

What is dopamine and what is its main role in the NS?

A
  • Dopamine is a neuromodulator that influences the effects of neurotransmitters on a neural pathways/neuron/brain
  • excitatory AND inhibitory
  • reinforces the reward pathway
  • controls smooth voluntary movement
  • can prompt addiction
  • associated with feelings of pleasure, movement, cognition, motivation
  • too little = +arkinson’s disease
19
Q

What is seretonin and what is its role in the NS?

A
  • inhibitory neurmodulator
  • high levels = mood improves
  • low levels = mood declines
  • influences sleep, when there is not suffiecient enough seretonin production, melatonin production is inhibited and effected
  • regulates impulse behaviours
  • regulates agression
  • 90% produced in the gastrointestinal tract
  • mood, appetite, memory, etc.
20
Q

What is synaptic plasticity?

A

Specifc changes that occur within the synapse between neurons due to repeated stimulation or lack of repeated stimulation.

21
Q

What is long term potentiation?

A

The relatively permamnent strengthening of synaptic connections as a result of repeated activation of a neural pathway

22
Q

What is long term depression?

A

The relatively permanent weakening of synaptic connections as a result of repeatedly lower levels of activity in a neural pathway.

23
Q

What is sprouting?

A

The ability of dendrites or axons to devlop new extensions or branches.
This enables the formation of new synaptic connections.
Formation of these new growths is called “synaptogenesis”

24
Q

What is rerouting?

A

The formation of new connections ebtween neurons to establish alternative neural pathways.
rerouting occurs due to damaged neural connections or new connections through learning.

25
Q

What is pruning?

A

The removal of excess neurons and synaptic connections that are not adequately activated to increase the efficiency of neural transmission.

26
Q

Define the term stress.

A

A state of mental, emotional and physiological tension resulting from a stressor.

27
Q

Define the term internal stress.

A

The cause of stress that originates from within the person.
- Can be both psychological and biological.
- Eg negative thoughts about a situation.
Heaches and pain caused by injury.

28
Q

Define the term external stressors

A

The cause of stress originates from outside the person.
- Can include environmental events and sociocultural stressors
- Eg. life events such as weddings; bullying; environmental catastrophies; meeting new people

29
Q

What is acute stress?

A

Stress that usually occurs due to a sudden threat that lasts for a short period of time.

30
Q

What is FFF?

A

FFF: an automatic and biological response to a percieved stressor that increases our survival chances.
- it is acute and adaptive
- it helps us to be prepared to meet the demands of the stressor

31
Q

What is chronic stress?

A

Stress that lasts [persists] for a long time.

32
Q

What is cortisol and its role in chronic stress?

A

When experiencing long term stress, the adrenal glands release cortisol which allows the body to stay on high alert over long periods of time.
- boosts energy and awareness
- however, long term release of cortisl supresses the immune system as energy is depleted from fighting infection

33
Q

Approach strategies

A
  • Define: directly attempting to find a solution to the stress of toeliminate it.
  • Examples: seeking expert advice or developing a coping plan
  • Useful when: stressors need immediate attention, psychological stress must be reduced
34
Q

Avoidance Strategies

A
  • Define: A strategy that is used to avoid the stressor/issue/situation that provides short term temporary releif maladaptively
  • Examples: Procrastination, substance abuse, distractions, exercise
  • Useful when: energy is required for other stressors; there are no other strategies
35
Q

What is context specific efectiveness

A

A coping strategy that matches the specific denands of the stressor and matches the specific characteristics of the individual

36
Q

What is coping flexibility

A

The ability to recognise that a coping strategy is not appropriate for agiven situation and discontinue using it.
The being able to select a more suitable. more effective, alternative strategy to meet the demands of the stressor.

37
Q

GAS Model:
Alarm reaction - SHOCK

A
  • level of resistance to the stressor falls
  • the body acts injured
  • the acute stress response
  • decrease in muscle tone, body temp and blood sugar
38
Q

GAS Model:
Alarm reaction - COUNTERSHOCK

A
  • level of resistance to the stressor increases
  • the body responds to the stimulus
  • release of adrenaline and cortisol
  • FFF is initiated
  • increase in muscle tone body temp and blood sugar
39
Q

GAS Model: Resistance

A
  • cortisol peaks
  • blood sugar increases along with energy
  • immune system functioning is impaired
  • signs of wear and tear
  • levels of resistance to the stressor peak and then begin to fall
40
Q

GAS Model: Exhaustion

A
  • energy stores deplted
    body susceptible to physical + psychological illness
  • excess cortisol in the blood stream
  • levels of resistance to the stress are well below normal

Psychology (5 decks)

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