3.1&2 The Nervous System & Cerebral Cortex

• What does the somatic nervous system contain?

  Sensory and motor neurons
• What is the function of sensory neurons in the somatic nervous system?

  They take impulses from sense organs to the CNS
• What do motor neurons do in the somatic nervous system?

  They take impulses from the CNS to muscles and glands
• What does the autonomic nervous system control?

  Involuntary actions
• What are the two systems that control the autonomic nervous system?

  Sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
• What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system?

  It triggers "fight or flight" responses
• What effects does the sympathetic nervous system have on heart rate?

  It speeds up heart rate
• How does the sympathetic nervous system affect breathing rate?

  It increases breathing rate
• What is the effect of the sympathetic nervous system on peristalsis?

  It decreases the rate of peristalsis
• What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

  It triggers "rest and digest" responses
• How does the parasympathetic nervous system affect heart rate?

  It slows down heart rate
• What is the effect of the parasympathetic nervous system on breathing rate?

  It decreases breathing rate
• How does the parasympathetic nervous system affect peristalsis?

  It increases the rate of peristalsis
• What are the antagonistic effects of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems on the digestive system?

  • Sympathetic: Decreases peristalsis and digestive secretions
  • Parasympathetic: Increases peristalsis and digestive secretions
• What is a converging pathway in the nervous system?

  Impulses from several sources travel to one neuron
• How do converging pathways affect sensitivity?

  They increase sensitivity to signals
• What is summation in the context of converging pathways?

  Weak stimuli add together to trigger an impulse
• What is a diverging pathway in the nervous system?

  One impulse travels to several neurons
• How does divergence of motor neurons benefit fine motor control?

  It allows one impulse to affect multiple destinations
• What is a reverberating pathway?

  Neurons link later in the pathway to earlier neurons
• What is the function of a reverberating pathway?

  It allows repeated stimulation of the pathway
• What is the cerebral cortex responsible for?

  Centre of conscious thought
• What types of areas does the cerebral cortex contain?

  Sensory, motor, and association areas
• What is the role of association areas in the cerebral cortex?

  They analyze and interpret sensory impulses
• What connects the two cerebral hemispheres?

  Corpus callosum
• How is information processed in the cerebral cortex?

  Information from one side is processed in the opposite side
• How does the corpus callosum function?

  Transfers information between cerebral hemispheres
• What does the nervous system analyze?

  Sensory information from the body and environment
• What are the sense organs?

  Eyes, skin, ears, nose, tongue
• What are the main components of the nervous system?

  Brain, spinal cord, nerves, sense organs
• What does the central nervous system consist of?

  Brain and spinal cord
• What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

  The nerves
• How is the peripheral nervous system divided?

  Into somatic and autonomic nervous systems
• What is the primary function of the somatic nervous system?

  It controls mostly voluntary actions
• What is the primary function of the autonomic nervous system?

  It controls involuntary actions
• What are the learning intentions regarding the nervous system?

  • Describe the structure of CNS and PNS
  • State the components of the somatic and autonomic systems
  • Describe antagonistic actions on heart rate, breathing, peristalsis, and secretions
  • Describe the structure and function of neural pathways