Unit 3 (K1/2) - Divisions of the Nervous System & The Cerebral Cortex

Question 1

What is the Nervous System divided into?

Answer 1

The Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).

Question 2

What is the Central Nervous System composed of?

Answer 2

The brain and spinal cord.

Question 3

What is the Peripheral Nervous System made up of?

Answer 3

The PNS is made up from sensory neurons carrying impulses from the receptors to the CNS and motor neurons which carry impulses from CNS to the muscles.

Question 4

What can the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) be divided into?

Answer 4

The somatic and autonomic nervous system.

Question 5

What does the Somatic Nervous System (SNS) control?

Answer 5

Voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.

Question 6

What functions does the Somatic Nervous System (SNS) deal with?

Answer 6

Deals with functions under conscious such as walking and speaking.

Question 7

What does the autonomic system control?

Answer 7

Involuntary bodily functions such as heart rate, breathing and peristalsis.

Question 8

What can the autonomic nervous system be divided into?

Answer 8

Sympathetic and parasympathetic.

Question 9

What does antagonistic mean?

Answer 9

They affect the same structure, but have the opposite effect.

Question 10

What does the parasympathetic system reduce in the body?

Answer 10

1) Heart Rate
2) Breathing Rate
3) Blood flow to the skeletal muscles

Question 11

What does the parasympathetic system increase in the body?

Answer 11

1) Intestinal secretions in the digestive system
2) Increases peristalsis
3) Increased blood flow to the smooth muscle of the digestive system

Question 12

What does the sympathetic system increase in the body?

Answer 12

1) Heart Rate
2) Breathing Rate
3) Blood flow from digestive system to skeletal muscles.

Question 13

What does the sympathetic system decrease?

Answer 13

1) Peristalsis
2) Intestinal Secretions

Question 14

What are the different types of neural pathways?

Answer 14

1) Converging
2) Diverging
3) Reverberating

Question 15

What occurs during a converging neural pathway?

Answer 15

This is where impulses from several impulses travel to one neuron e.g. increasing sensitivity to low levels of illumination.

Question 16

What occurs during a diverging neural pathway?

Answer 16

This is where impulses from one neuron travel to several neurons e.g. fine motor control of fingers.

Question 17

What occurs during a reverberating neural pathway?

Answer 17

This is where neurons later in the pathway link with earlier neurons, sending the impulse back through the pathway e.g. repetitive activities such as breathing.

Question 18

What does the brain consist of?

Answer 18

The central core, the limbic system and the cerebral cortex.

Question 19

What does the medulla control?

Answer 19

The autonomic nervous system regulating basic life processes such as breathing and heart rate.

Question 20

What does the cerebellum control?

Answer 20

1) coordination
2) movement
3) balance
4) posture

Question 21

What does the central core contain?

Answer 21

1) Medulla
2) Cerebellum

Question 22

What does the cerebral cortex do?

Answer 22

1) It is the centre of conscious thought.
2) Recalls memories
3) Alters behaviour in light of experience.

Question 23

What are the three types of functional area in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 23

1) Sensory
2) Association
3) Motor

Question 24

What does the Sensory areas do in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 24

Receive information as sensory impulses from the body’s receptors.

Question 25

What does the Association areas do in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 25

Analyse and interpret these impulses and “make sense” of them and “take decisions”.

Question 26

What does the motor areas do in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 26

These receive information from the association areas and “carry out orders” by sending motor impulses to the appropriate effectors.

Question 27

What transfers information between hemispheres?

Answer 27

The corpus callosum.