biopsych

• what is the nervous system

  A specialised network of neural cells in the human body and is our primary internal communication system
• functions of NS

  to collect ,provide and respond to information in the environment : to co-ordinate the working of different organs and cells in the body.
• How is the NS divided

  central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
• how is the PNS divided

  Somatic NS and Autonomic NS
• how is the autonomic NS divided

  Sympathetic NS and Parasympathetic NS
• how is the CNS divided

  Brain and Spinal cord
• what does the spinal cord do

  connects brain to PNS
• what does the PNS do

  carries messages to and from the CNS
• what does the autonomic NS do

  controls involuntary body functions
• what does the sympathetic NS do

  arouses body to expend energy. (fight or flight)
• what does the parasympathetic NS do

  calms body to conserve and maintain energy
• function of CNS

  the control of behaviour and regulation of the bodys pysiological(biological) processes
• cerebrum

  largest part of the brain

  divided into 4 different lobes

  split down the middle into two halves called cerebral hemispheres

  each hemisphere is specialised in particular behaviour

  both halves communicate with eachother through the corpus callosum
• cerebellum

  controls motor skills

  coordinates muscles

  allows precise movements
• brain stem

  regulates autonomic functions eg. hear rate ,breathing, swallowing

  motor and sensory neurones travel through the brain stem allowing to pass between the brain and spinal cord
• what are the four lobes of the cerebrum

  Frontal lobe, Occipital lobe, Parietal lobe, Temporal lobe
• frontal lobe

  involved in higher functions eg. planning, logic, reasoning
• parietal lobe

  processes sensory information eg.touch, temperature and pain

  it also processes spatial information
• occipital lobe

  processes visual information
• temporal lobe

  processes auditory information
• main function of spinal cord

  relay info between the brain and the rest of the body
• how does the spinal cord relay information between the body and the brain

  spinal nerves branch from the spinal cord and connect with different organs, muscles and glands
• what else does the spinal cord do

  allows actions to be performed without involving the brain (reflex actions)
• somatic NS

  communicates with muscles and gets sensory information from the skin . associated with voluntary movements and reflex actions and has sensory and motor pathways
• autonomic NS

  associated with unconcious processes including homeostasis and the fight or flight response and has only motor pathways
• sympathetic NS

  responsible for galvanising the body to deal with emergencies and threats . brings about the fight or flight stress response
• parasympathetic NS

  involved with energy conservation and digestion . its effects are opposite of the sympathetic NS
• effects the sympathetic NS does

  heart rate increases and so does blood pressure, airway relaxes, pupils dilate, digestion inhibited , increased blood flow to skeletal muscles
• effects of parasympathetic NS

  heart rate slows and blood pressure goes back to normal, constricts airway, pupil constriction, stimulates digestion, blood flow to skeletal muscles reduced
• what is a neuron

  a nerve cell
• parts of a neuron

  cell body, dendrites, axon, myelin sheath, schwann cell and node of ranvier, nucleus
• what does the cell body do

  the cells life-support centre
• what do dendrites do

  recieves messages from other cells
• what does the axon do

  passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons , muscles or glands
• what does the myelin sheath do

  cover the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
• sensory neurons

  have long dendrites and short axons

  they carry signals from receptors to the CNS
• relay neurons

  have short dendrites and short axons

  carry signals within the CNS
• motor neurons

  have short dendrites and long axons

  carry signals from the CNS to effectors
• function of a neuron

  to transmit info around the NS and the body . information is transmitted in two ways: within the neuron- by an electrical impulse and between neurons- chemically by neurotransmitters
• how does transmission within a neuron occur

  info travels along a neuron by an electrical impulse which is based upon an action potential. in the resting potential state the inside of a neuron is negatively charged compared to the outside. as soon as the neuron is activated the inside of it becomes positively charges compared. to the outside for a fraction of a second . this causes an electrical signal to travel down the axon towards the end of the neuron