Biopsychology

• What are the three neurons ?

  Sensory

  relay

  motor
• What are the specialised cells that make up the nervous system ?

  Neurons
• What do sensory neurones do ?

  Collect information from sensory organs and carry this message to relay neurones in the brain
• What do relay neurones do ?

  analyse the sensation and decide how to respond

  they then send the message to motor Neurons
• What do Motor neurons do ?


  Connect with skeletal muscles to allow for a physical response
• What did neurons do ?

  collect, process and respond to information in the environment through the control of organs and muscles
• Why is the nervous system the fastest acting system in the body ?

  Neurons transmit Electrical impulses which travel quickly along nerve cells, allowing for rapid communication and response within the body.
• What does the CNS comprise of ?

  brain

  spinal chord
• What does the brain do ?

  Plays a role in psychological processes e.g visual and auditory perception. Also higher mental functions e.g decision making and language
• What does the spinal chord do ?

  Transmits information to and from the brain allowing the brain to monitor and regulate bodily processes e.g breathing and digestion. It also controls voluntary movements and controls reflex responses
• What does the PNS comprise of ?

  The nerves outside the brain and spinal chord
• What does the autonomic nervous system do ?


  involved in unconscious involuntary life maintaining processes e.g heart rate

  it comprises purely of motor pathways

  it carries commands from the brain stem
• What does the somatic nervous system do ?

  connects the central nervous system with senses and is involved in conscious voluntary movements by skeletal muscles

  it’s comprised of sensory and motor pathways

  it carries commands from the motor cortex in the brain
• What does The sympathetic nervous system do ?

  Responds to perceived threats by initiating the fight or flight response
• What happens during fight or flight ?

  increased heart rate

  pupil dilation

  faster breathing

  diversion of blood away from the skin

  inhibited salivation and digestion
• What does the parasympathetic nervous system do ?

  restores normal physiological functioning after a threat has passed to conserve energy
• What is done conserve energy when a threat has passed ?

  decreasing heart rate

  constricting pupils

  slowing breathing

  bringing blood back to the skin

  salivation and digestion
• What does frontal lobe do ?

  decision making and problem solving
• What does the temporal lobe do ?

  processes auditory information
• What does the brain stem do ?

  regulates breathing and heart rate
• What does the Cerebellum do ?

  coordination and balance
• What does the occipital lobe do ?

  processes visual information
• What does the parietal lobe do ?


  processes touch sensations
• How do neurons transmit messages around the body ?

  Electrical and chemical impulses
• What do electrical impulses refer to ?

  How signals are sent within a neuron e.g an action potential is transmitted along a neurons axon
• What do chemical impulses refer to ?

  how signals are sent between neurons e.g neurotransmitters are released from one neuron that then communicate with another neuron
• How are neural pathways made ?

  When neurons communicate with eachother
• What are demdrites ?

  branch like extensions from the neurons cell body that receive signals from other neurons
• What is the myelin sheath ?

  A layer of fatty tissue that surrounds the axon

  It helps protect the axon and speed up action potentials
• What are nodes of ranvier?

  Gaps between the myelin sheath that speed up the transmission of an action potential by allowing it to jump between the gaps
• What’s an axon terminal ?

  the end of the axon whereby the arrival of action potentials trigger the releases of neurotransmitters

  these chemicals communicate with nearby neurons by binding to receptors on their dendrites
• What is the axon ?

  The long extension from the cell body that carries action potentials towards the end of the neuron
• What’s the nucleus ?

  The structure in the cell body that contains the genetic information of the cell
• What’s the soma ?

  the largest part of The neuron

  it contains the nucleus
• Where is the sensory neuron located ?

  The somatic division of the PNS
• What’s the function of the sensory neuron ?

  To transmit stimuli detected by the sensory organs to the relay neurons in the CNS
• whats the structure of sensory neurons?

  Long dendrites and short axons
• Where is the relay neuron located ?

  The CNS
• What’s the function of the relay neuron?


  To transmit signals between sensory neurons and motor neurons in the PNS to initiate A response
• Structure of a relay neuron?

  short dendrites and typically short axons