TERM 1 REVISION

• Peripheral Nervous System

  Nerves in the body that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
• Peripheral Nervous System

  • Voluntary movements (chewing food, walking, and facial expressions)
  • Regulates autonomic functions (breathing, heart rate, and digesting)
• Parasympathetic Nervous System


  State of 'rest and digest' response
• Parasympathetic Nervous System


  • Rest and digestion
  • Reduced heart rate
  • Decrease blood flow
  • Dilates pupils
• Sympathetic Nervous System

  Fight-or-flight response
• Sympathetic Nervous System

  • Increased heart rate
  • Increased blood flow
  • Constricts pupil
• Autonomic Nervous System

  Involuntary movement
• Somatic Nervous System

  Voluntary movement
• Somatic Nervous System

  • Network of nerves
  • Communicates sensory information to CNS and motor information from the CNS
• Sensory

  Sensory information is carried to CNS by sensory neurons (afferent neurons)
• Motor

  Motor information is carried from CNS via motor neurons (efferent neurons)
• Brain

  Decision-making organ that receives, processes, and interprets information
• Main regions of the brain

  • Hindbrain
  • Midbrain
  • Forebrain
• Hindbrain

  • Sleep
  • Breathing
  • Heart rate
  • Balance
  • Coordination
• Pons

  Group of nerves that sits above the medulla
• Pons

  • Tear production
  • Chewing
  • Blinking
  • Receives visual information to control eye and body actions
• Medulla


  Sits above the hindbrain, below the forebrain
• Medulla


  • Regulation of sleep
  • Motor movement
  • Arousal
• Midbrain


  Sends information to the forebrain
• Reticular Formation


  Network of neurons, part of midbrain & hindbrain
• Reticular Formation


  • Control of arousal
  • Sleeping and waking cycle
• Forebrain


  Largest, most complex region of the brain
• Parts of the Forebrain

  • Cerebrum
  • Hypothalamus
  • Thalamus
• Cerebrum


  Biggest part of forebrain, covered by thin layer (cerebral cortex), divided into left and right hemispheres
• Hypothalamus


  Small structure that regulates sleep, body temperature, emotions, and the four F's (feeding, fighting, fleeing, and fornication)
• Thalamus


  Communication centre that receives information from sensory organs (except nose)
• Cerebral Cortex


  • Wrinkled like a walnut, joined by thick band of fibres called corpus callosum
  • Left hemisphere gets sensory information from right side, controls movement
  • Right hemisphere gets sensory information from left side, controls movement
• Left Hemisphere


  Logical thinking, reasoning, writing, comprehending language
• Right Hemisphere


  Spatial tasks, ability to draw pictures, creativity, intuition, and emotions
• Corpus Callosum


  Thick bundle of nerve fibres that communicate and send signals to each hemisphere
• Lobes of the Brain

  • Frontal
  • Parietal
  • Temporal
  • Occipital
• Frontal Lobe


  • Problem solving
  • Reasoning
  • Planning & decision making
  • Expression of personality
• Parietal Lobe


  • Processing sensory information
  • Auditory information
  • Spatial awareness
• Temporal Lobe


  • Understanding speech
  • Auditory information
  • Sense of smell
• Occipital Lobe

  • Visual perception
  • Visual processing
• Broca's Area


  Contains neurons involved in speech function, located in the left frontal lobe
• Broca's Area


  • Language production
  • Controls fine muscles for production of clear speech (tongue, cheeks, lips, jaws)
• Wernicke's Area


  Controls language comprehension
• Wernicke's Area


  • Difficulty understanding speech
  • Ability to form complete sentences but with jumbled words
• Phineas Gage had damage to his left frontal lobe, which caused a marked shift in his personality and organisational skills