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CfE Higher Human > Unit 3 - Neurobiology & Immunology > Flashcards

Unit 3 - Neurobiology & Immunology Flashcards

1
Q

Central nervous system

A

Division of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

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2
Q

Peripheral nervous system

A

Division of the nervous system consisting of the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

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3
Q

Somatic nervous system

A

Division of the nervous system consisting of sensory or motor neurons.

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4
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

Division of the nervous system consisting of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons.

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5
Q

Antagonistic

A

Sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons bring about opposite effects.

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6
Q

Sympathetic

A

Division of the nervous system that speeds up heart and breathing rate

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7
Q

Parasympathetic

A

Division of the nervous system that speeds up peristalsis and secretions of the intestines.

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8
Q

Sensory

A

Neurons that take impulses from sense organs to the central nervous system.

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9
Q

Motor

A

Neurons that take impulses from the central nervous system to muscles and glands.

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10
Q

Converging

A

Neural pathway where impulses from several neurons travel to one neuron.

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11
Q

Diverging

A

Neural pathway where impulses from one neuron travel to several neurons.

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12
Q

Reverberating

A

Neural pathway where neurons later in the pathway link with earlier neurons, allowing repeated stimulation of the pathway.

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13
Q

Cerebral cortex

A

The area of the brain responsible for conscious thought.

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14
Q

Localisation of function

A

The brain contains sensory, motor and association areas.

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15
Q

Association areas of the brain are concerned with

A

Language processing, personality, intelligence and imagination

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16
Q

Left cerebral hemisphere

A

Controls the right side of the body and receives info from the right visual field.

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17
Q

Right cerebral hemisphere.

A

Controls the left side of the body and receives info from the left visual field.

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18
Q

Corpus Callosum

A

Band of tissue that allows information to be transferred between the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

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19
Q

Encoding

A

The process of placing information into the memory.

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20
Q

Storage

A

The retention of information in the memory.

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21
Q

Retrieval

A

The recovery of information from the memory.

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22
Q

Sensory memory

A

Type of memory that retains all the visual and auditory input received for a few seconds.

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23
Q

Short-term memory (STM)

A

Type of memory that has a limited capacity and holds information for a short time.

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24
Q

Memory span

A

The capacity of the short-term memory.

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25
Chunking
A method used to improve the capacity of the short-term memory.
26
The serial position effect
Characteristic memory pattern where words at the start and end of a list are recalled more easily than those in the middle.
27
Displacement
Items in the short-term memory that are lost through being replaced by new information
28
Decay
Items in the short-term memory that are lost after a short time has passed.
29
The working memory model
The ability of the short-term memory to process and store data and to perform simple cognitive tasks.
30
Long-term memory (LTM)
Type of memory that has an unlimited capacity and can hold information for a long time.
31
Rehearsal
A shallow form of encoding info into the LTM by repetition.
32
Organisation
A form of encoding info into the LTM by sorting information into categories.
33
Elaboration
A deeper form of encoding info into the LTM by adding detail to the information, leading to improved retention.
34
Contextual cues
Information that relates to the time and place when the memory was initially encoded into the LTM.
35
Cell body
Structure in a neuron which contains the nucleus and most of the cytoplasm
36
Axon
Structure in a neuron which is a single nerve fibre and carries impulses away from a cell body
37
Dendrite
Nerve fibres that pass impulses towards a cell body
38
Myelin Sheath
Fatty material that insulates a neuron and speeds up the rate of impulse conduction
39
Glial cells
The cells surrounding neurons that produce the myelin sheath
40
Neurotransmitter
Type of chemical messenger used at a synapse
41
Vesicles
Sacs inside which neurotransmitters are stored in the presynaptic neuron
42
Synaptic cleft
Where neurons connect with other neurons or muscle tissue
43
Receptors
Proteins to which neurotransmitters bind to cause an impulse to be sent
44
Acetylcholine
Type of neurotransmitter removed from the synaptic cleft by enzyme degradation
45
Noradrenaline
Type of neurotransmitter removed from the synaptic cleft by reabsorption
46
Excitatory
A signal that causes an impulse to be triggered
47
Inhibitory
Weak signals that do not cause an impulse to be triggered
48
Threshold
The name given to the minimum number of neurotransmitters that must attach to receptors in order to transmit an impulse
49
Summation
When a series of weak stimuli can release enough neurotransmitter to trigger an impulse
50
Endorphins
Neurotransmitters that stimulate neurons involved in reducing the intensity of pain
51
Dopamine
Neurotransmitter that induces feelings of pleasure and reinforces particular behaviour by activating the reward pathway in the brain.
52
The reward pathway
Pathway in the brain that is activated when an individual engages in a behaviour that is beneficial to them, for example eating when hungry
53
Agonists
Chemicals that bind to and stimulate specific receptors mimicking the action of a neurotransmitter at a synapse.
54
Antagonists
Chemicals that bind to specific receptors blocking the action of a neurotransmitter at a synapse.
55
Recreational drugs
Drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, MDMA, nicotine and alcohol
56
Drug Addiction
Caused by repeated use of drugs that act as antagonists.
57
Drug Tolerance
Caused by repeated use of drugs that act as agonists.
58
Epithelial cells
Cells that form a physical barrier to pathogens, e.g. in skin or the lining of the intestine
59
Pathogen
A bacterium, virus or other organism that can cause disease
60
Chemical secretions
Secretions include tears, saliva, mucus and stomach acid
61
The inflammatory response
The body's first response at the site of an injury
62
Histamine
Chemical released by mast cells causing vasodilation and increased permeability of capillaries
63
Phagocytes
White blood cells capable of carrying out phagocytosis
64
Phagocytosis
The process where a white blood cell engulfs and destroys a pathogen
65
Lysosomes
Cell organelles that contain digestive enzymes used in phagocytosis
66
Cytokines
Protein molecules that act as a signal to specific white blood cells causing them to accumulate at the site of infection.
67
Lymphocytes
White blood cells involved in the specific immune response.
68
Antigens
Molecules, often proteins located on the surface of cells that trigger a specific immune response.
69
Clonal population
A population of identical lymphocytes formed by repeated division
70
B lymphocytes
These lymphocytes produce antibodies against antigens and this leads to the destruction of the pathogen
71
Antibodies
Y-shaped proteins that have receptor binding sites specific to a particular antigen on a pathogen
72
Allergic reaction
Hyper-sensitive response to antigens on substances that are harmless to the body
73
T lymphocytes
Lymphocytes that destroy infected body cells by recognising antigens of the pathogen on the cell membrane and inducing apoptosis
74
Apoptosis
Programmed cell death
75
Self-antigens
Antigens on the body's own cells
76
Non-self-antigens
Antigens found on infected cells
77
Auto-immune disease
Immune system failure leads to T lymphocytes attacking the body's own self-antigens e.g. in Type I Diabetes
78
Memory cells
B and T lymphocytes that survive in the body long term
79
Secondary response
On secondary exposure to an antigen, the antibody production is greater and more rapid than during the primary response.
80
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Virus that attacks and destroys T lymphocytes and causes depletion of T lymphocytes which leads to the development of AIDS
81
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Individuals with this disease have a weakened immune system and so are more vulnerable to opportunistic infections.
82
Vaccination
A medical treatment to produce immunity against a disease, using antigens from infectious pathogens
83
Immunity
The ability of the body to resist infection
84
Adjuvant
A substance which makes the vaccine more effective, so enhancing the immune response.
85
Herd immunity
When a large percentage of a population is immunised - important in reducing the spread of diseases
86
The herd immunity threshold
This depends on the type of disease, the effectiveness of the vaccine and the density of the population
87
Vaccination programmes
Medical interventions where mass vaccinations take place to establish herd immunity in a population
88
Antigenic variation
Some pathogens can change their antigens, e.g. Influenza. This means that memory cells are not effective against them.
89
Clinical trials
Medical research carried out to establish the safety and effectiveness of drugs and vaccines before being licensed for use
90
Randomised
Subjects in clinical trials are divided into groups in a random way to reduce bias in the distribution of characteristics such as age and gender
91
Double-blind
When neither the subjects nor the researchers know which group subjects are in to prevent biased interpretation of the results
92
Placebo
A substitute for the drug being tested in a clinical trial - it will not cause the desired effect and therefore is used as a control to ensure valid comparisons
93
Large group size in a trial
Reduces experimental error and allows researchers to determine if differences between groups are statistically significant

CfE Higher Human (3 decks)

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