Week 7 Flashcards
What does the central nervous system contain?
The brain and the Spinal Cord
What does the peripheral nervous system contain?
the skeletal nervous system– which includes sensory movement and motor functions. And the automatic nervous system
What does the automatic nervous system do?
It is part of the skeletal nervous system and it regulates functions that are necessary to keep you alive, ie tells your heart to pump and your lungs to breathe.
what does the Sympathetic nervous system do?
The sympathetic nervous system promotes the fight or flight response. It is a part of the automatic nervous system
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
The parasympathetic nervous system is a part of the automatic nervous system that regulates functions pertaining to resting and digesting.
What do glia and neurons do?
They are the two cells that occupy the central nervous system. Neurons take information from other neurons and send it on to other neurons, they transmit siganls around the body. Glia are cells that support and protect the neurons
What is homeostasis?
An animals regulation and upkeep of the functions that keep it alive. THings like hunger and eating, temperature and sweating, they are all part of the automatic nervous system
Describe the parts and functions of a neuron?
Dendrites- recieve the information from other neurons
cell body- contains structure that maintain the cells health metabolism
nucleus- contains genes and makes the proteins that run the cell
Axon- transmits info from neuron
Myelin- axon covering that makes the signal move faster and more efficient
Synaptic terminal- where the neuron transmits info from itself to the next neuron
What is a synapse?
The space between one neurons axon and the next neurons dendrites.
what is a nerve?
A bundle of axon fibers. Nerves in the CNS are called tracts
What are sensory neurons?
They are neurons that detect information from the world and pass it on to the brain (also called afferent neurons) BODY TO BRAIN
What are motor neurons?
they produce movements by directing muscles to react or contract (also called afferent neurons) BRAIN TO BODY
What are inter neurons?
Any neuron not a sensory or motor neurons, they work to link sensory and motor neurons– communicate information around the body
What happens in a spinal reflex?
when the information doesn’t it to the brain. It goes from the sensory neurons to the inter neurons to the motor neurons.
What are neurotransmitters?
chemical medium through which the signals flow from one neuron to the next at the end of an axon through the synaptic terminal.
Describe Neurotransmission
Electrical energy in the first neuron promotes the release of neurotransmitters that then bind with membranes on the other neuron that then open and let ions from the synaptic cleft to pass through into the dendrite and cause an electrical signal in the next neuron.When the ions that enter the next neurons are enough to change the electrical potential of the dentrite then an electrical signal is sent through the neuron.
What are excitatory synapses?
Synapses that are more likely to cause the post synaptic neuron to fire
What are inhibitory synapses?
Synapses that have a lower likelihood for the post synaptic neuron to fire
What are the three groups of neurotransmitters?
Amines, amino acids, and peptides. The neurotransmitters are grouped into these groups based on chemical structure.
What are some neurotransmitters that are amino acids?
GABA, and glutamate
What are some neurotransmitters that are amines?
Norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine, dopamine,
What are peptides?
Peptides are a large group of neurotransmitters, some deal with pain, some deal with emotions, and others regulate stress. An example is the opioids( morphine, opium, etc.)
What does dopamine do?
It controls movement and posture, also it effects mood, and plays a role in positive reinforcement and dependency. Lack of it is connected to parkinson’s disease.
What does serotonin do?
Serotonin regulates things like sleep mood, temperature, hunger, and pain. Imbalances of serotonin are linked to depression, suicide, impulsive behaviour and aggressiveness
What does norepinephrine do?
It is important for attentiveness, emotions, sleeping, dreaming, and learning. It also can regulate heart rate.
What does glutamate do?
Glutamate plays a part in memory and learning. It is thought to play a role in Alzheimers
What does epinephrine do?
It gives a burst of energy, also called adrenaline.
What does GABA do?
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a inhibitory neurotransmitter that is often found in the cortex, it contributes to motor control, vision and many other cortical functions. It also regulates anxiety. It helps treat epilepsy and Huntington’s
What does Acetylcholine do?
It is an excitatory neurotransmitter. It is widely present and is used in muscle contraction, and the excretion of certain hormones. It the central nervous system it effects, wakefulness, attentiveness, anger, aggression, sexuality, thirst and other things, the lack of it is also associated with Alhiemer’s
What are endorphines?
they are neurotransmitters that are linked to emotional behaviours and pain relief.
What are agonists and antagonists?
Agonists stimulate receptor sites to promote neurotransmission. Antagonists do the opposite, and block receptor sites.
What are re-uptake inhibitors?
Block neurotransmitters from leaving the synaptic cleft, and this causes the neurotransmitters to have more of an effect.
What are substances that change a persons behaviour doing? (three things)
They are effecting the neurotransmitters in one of three ways: Block or enhance synthesis or release of neurotransmitters; Block or enhance neurotransmitters binding to the post-synaptic receptors; Block or enhance neurotransmitter re-uptake
What is the difference between neurotransmitters and hormones?
They are essentially the same except for the distance they have to travel to get to the area they are effecting. Hormones have to travel through the blood stream to its target cells, and neurotransmitters are transmitted directly into the synaptic cleft.
Aphasia is the loss of ability to speak when certain parts of the brain are injured, what does this say about how the brain works?
It says that certain functions of the brain are localized to certain areas of the brain.
Frontal lobe
the location of conscious thinking and emotions, also does memory, intiates movement and impulse control.
Parietal lobe
Holds the homunculus, Is used in senses and perception. also spatial awareness. and location of body parts
Occipital lobe
deals with everything to do with vision
Temporal lobe
The experience of strong emotions, the storage of memory, taste, smell and hearing.
Pituary gland
Controls endocrine system which controls all hormones
Corpus callosum
The bundle of nerve fibres that connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain
Brain stem
The part of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. Important for life maintaining functions, sleep and consciousness.
Cerebellum
Involved in motor control, used to smooth actions, coordinate actions, and make actions precise
Hypothalamus
key regulator of the hormonal system, drives (like hunger and thirst), and body temperature
thalamus
Information from the sensory organs and motor signals from subcortical structures like the basal ganglia are received by thalamic regions and relayed separately to cortex. The thalamus is also involved in regulating wakefulness and sleep
Basal Ganglia
a group of sub cortical structures that play a role in voluntary motor control, learning and remembering how to do something
limbic system
Key for motivation, emotion and some types of memory.
