Unit 3 Topic 1

Question 1

Human Nervous System

Answer 1

CNS

• Brain
• spinal cord ( sends motor commands to the body and sensory information to the body) (spinal reflex - basic behaviours)

PNS nerves

• autonomic (smooth, involuntary)
  
  • sympathetic (stress response, fight or flight)
  • parasympathetic (day to day functioning)
• somatic (skeletal, voluntary)

Question 2

Frontal Lobe

Answer 2

• speech
• abstract thought
• planning
• social skills

Question 3

Primary Motor Cortex

Answer 3

Movement of skeletal muscles

Question 4

Parietal lobe

Answer 4

• touch
• non verbal thought
• spatial orientation - primary somatosensory cortex
• processing sensation

Question 5

Temporal lobe

Answer 5

• hearing
• language
• Visual recognition
• understanding speech - primary auditory cortex

Question 6

Occipital Lobe

Answer 6

-vision - primary visual cortex

Question 7

Hippocampus

Answer 7

• Transfers declarative information to cerebral cortex for permanent storage - processed through low wave sleep
• Links emotion to memory, hippocampus (explicit memories) with amygdala (implicit memories)
• Functioning disrupted by stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD (brain + head injury also)

Question 8

Processing Language

Answer 8

Broca’s Area
- left frontal lobe - speech production

Geschwind’s Territory
- connection between two locations

Wernicke’s Area
- left temporal lobe - interpreting language

Question 9

Voluntary Movement

Answer 9

Primary Motor Cortex
- Rear frontal lobe - movement of skeletal muscles

Basal Ganglia
- gathers information necessary to move - current position - complete feedback loop

Cerebellum
- midbrain - stores sequences of movements (learnt), co-ordinates + integrates

contralateral organisation - left controls right + vice versa

Question 10

Emotion

Answer 10

Limbic system - implicated in memory, emotion, behaviour and motivation
- amygdala
fear, perceiving negative emotions, processing emotion,
memory recollection + storage
- hypothalamus
regulation + expression of emotions, emotional memory recall
- midbrain
reaction to stress, basic survival - running, fighting,
reproduction

Question 11

GABA

Answer 11

gamma-aminobutyric acid
- inhibitory
- 1/3 of all neurons in the brain use GABA
- important in regulating anxiety
- arousal + sleep + anxiety

Question 12

Neurotransmitters

Answer 12

chemicals the help communication across nerve synapses (synaptic transmission - process of neurons sending information via neurotransmitter.)

excitatory neurotransmitters
- causes neurons to fire ‘excites’ the target cell and causes more action potential.

inhibitory neurotransmitter
- inhibits neurons from firing, causes less likelihood of action potential.

Question 13

Glutamate

Answer 13

excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain involved in learning

Question 14

Acetylcholine

Answer 14

-neurotransmitter in the brain, spinal cord and PNS
- stimulates muscle contractions
- involved in learning memory
- controls REM sleep
- neuroplacticity

Question 15

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 15

• Gradual, severe memory loss
• confusion
• impared attention
• disordered tinking
• depression
• anterograde + retrograde amnesia

Causes:
LOW ACETYLCHOLINE
- amyloid plaques
proteins form along axon terminals + interfere with neuron’s
communication
- atrophy in hippocampus

Treatment:
- replace/increase acetylcholine
- prevent breakdown

Question 16

Epinephrine (Adrenalin)

Answer 16

hormone + neurotransmitter
- secreted by adrenal glands
- involved in stress responses, fight, flight, freeze/ anxiety, fear,
emotional arousal

Causes increased:
- blood pressure
- heart rate
- respiratory rate

Question 16

Dopamine

Answer 16

emotional arousal
- thoughts, feelings, motivations, behaviour - risk-taking, addiction
- experience of pleasure
- reward association (reward + pleasure centres)

release of glutamate into bloodstream - blood flows to muscles
- low levels = ADHA, hypertension + depression

Question 17

Norepinephrine

Answer 17

hormone + neurotransmitter
- stress responses
- alertness + arousal
- emotion regulation + attention increases

Question 18

Parkinson’s

Answer 18

• slowness of movement
• rigidity + involuntary movement
• difficulty stopping/starting movement
• reduced facial expressions
• pain, depression, dementia

Causes:
LACK OF DOPAMINE - degeneration of neurons in the basal ganglia
SN (responsible for movement) fires uncontrollably
- genetics, protein mutations
- environmental factors, pesticide robenone, MPTP (drugs)
- diet, vitamin B deficiency

Question 19

Serotonin

Answer 19

-mood regulation
- social behaviour
- appetite + digestion, sleeping, arousal/sexual functioning, well-being/happiness
- aggression, antisocial behaviour, pain

Question 20

Spinal Cord

Answer 20

connects PNS and brain to transfer information

Spinal reflexes
- monosynaptic reflex that serves a protective function
1 synapse, affector neuron (sensory), directly communicated
with effector neuron (motor)
- polysynaptic reflexes use two neurons: the affector, and effector
involving interneurons connecting affector and effector
neurons

Question 21

Neurotransmission

Answer 21

Presynaptic - vesicle - axon terminal - receptors - post synaptic

Question 22

LeDoux’s model of emotion

Answer 22

short route
- emotional stimulus - thalamus - amygdala - emotional response

long route
- emotional stimulus - thalamus - sensory cortex - amygdala/hippocampus - emotional response