nervous system & endocrine system

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    Created by
    paris clarke

    Cards (23)

    • what is the nervous system?

      a complex communication network compromised of nerves and cells that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to varies parts of the body.
      2 subdivisions: central nervous system & peripheral nervous system
    • central nervous system

      processes information from peripheral nervous system to decide what action to take
      made up of the brain and spinal cord
    • brain-CNS
      its main function is to maintain life
      provides conscious awareness and is involved in all psychological processes
      the brain consists of many regions which are responsible for different functions which helps analyse and interpret information from the environment
      the brain stem connects to the spinal cord and controls involuntary processes
    • spinal cord-CNS

      transfers messages to and from the brain and the rest of the body
      also responsible for simple reflex actions that don't involve the brain
      if damage is done to the spinal cord, areas supplied with spinal nerves below the damaged site will be cut off from the brain and stop functioning
    • peripheral nervous system

      relays messages from the CNS to the rest of the body
      2 subdivisions: autonomic nervous system & somatic nervous system
    • somatic nervous system

      facilitates communication between CNS and the outside world
      its made up of sensory receptors that carry information to CNS and motor pathways allows the brain to control voluntary movements
    • autonomic nervous system
      plays an important role in homeostasis, which maintains internal processes eg. body temp, heart rate and blood pressure
      only consists of motor pathways
      regulates subconscious psychological activities eg. involuntary movements
      2 subdivisions: sympathetic nervous system & parasympathetic nervous system
    • sympathetic nervous system

      involved in responses that prepares us for fight or flight
      impulses travel from the somatic nervous system to organs in the body to prepare for action when we face dangerous situations
      eg. increases heart rate & blood pressure and supressed digestion and salivation
    • parasympathetic nervous system

      relaxes the body and returns us to our 'normal' resting state
      slows heart rate and breathing and reduces blood pressure and any other functions that were previously slowed down during fight or flight
      works antagonistically to sympathetic nervous system
    • endocrine system

      a network of glands throughout the body which produce and secrete hormones to regulate and control behaviour and psychological processes
      separate to the nervous system but works with it to influence behaviour
      it uses hormones and the blood stream to send chemical messages to target cells
      each gland produces a different hormone that has a different psychological effect
    • glands 

      organs in the body that produce and secrete hormones
    • hormones 

      chemical messages that are transported through the bloodstream to target organs
    • pituitary gland (master gland)

      location: brain
      hormone: control release of all hormones from all glands
      action: controls other glands
    • pineal gland

      location: brain (behind hypothalamus)
      hormone: melatonin
      action: regulates the sleep/wake cycle
    • adrenal gland
      location: top of kidney
      hormone: adrenaline
      action: triggers fight or flight (increase heart rate, breathing rate and reduces digestion and salivation)
    • testes
      location: male reproductive system
      hormone: testosterone
      action: develops male sex characteristics (physical) & causes aggression and competitiveness (behavioural)
    • ovaries

      location: female reproductive system
      hormone: oestrogen
      action: regulate menstrual cycle
    • negative feedback

      keeps the concentration of a hormone within a narrow range
      occurs when a product feeds back to decrease its own production which helps to bring things back to normal when they become too extreme
    • negative feedback- hormone too low

      when a hormone is too low it is detected by the hypothalamus which sends out a 'releasing hormone' to inform the pituitary gland where the facilitating hormone is released so the gland produces the hormone
    • negative feedback- hormone too high

      when a hormone is too high it is detected by the hypothalamus and it stops secreting the 'releasing hormone' so the pituitary gland stops producing the facilitating hormone therefore the gland stops producing the hormone
    • fight or flight response
      its the body's reaction to an immediate stressor in the environment
      it psychologically prepares an individual to either
      1. confront the stressor
      2. flee it
    • amygdala
      an almond shaped set of neurons located deep within the brain and plays a key role in the processing of emotions
      forms a part of the limbic system
    • fight or flight process
      when faced with a threat the amygdala is activated and associates sensory signals with emotions and a distress signal is sent to the hypothalamus
      hypothalamus recognises the threat and sends a signal to the adrenal medulla via ANS which stimulates adrenal medulla and secretes adrenaline into bloodstream
      sympathetic nervous system
      body chooses whether the 'fight or flight'
      parasympathetic nervous system
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