Psych Ch. 2-3 Nervous System And And Biopsychology

Front 1

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Back 1

Receives, processes, and stores information and orders muscles, glands, and body organs. Composed of the brain and the spinal cord.

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Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Back 2

Carries information to and from the Central Nervous System and is divided into the Autonomic and Somatic Nervous Systems

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Somatic Nervous System

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Controls skeletal muscles and voluntary movements-- includes all of the efferent nerves that control skeletal muscle and the afferent nervs that carry info. from the sense organs to the CNS

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Autonomic Nervous System

Back 4

Regulates internal organs (smooth muscle), blood vessels, and glands that you don't consciously think about (involuntary actions). Contains efferent nerves that regulate body organs and afferent nerves that take info. from the system to the CNS. Composed of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems. Helps maintain homeostasis (ex. thermoregulation)

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Efferent nerves

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carrying signals from the CNS to the rest of the body (exiting CNS)

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Afferent nerves

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carrying signals from the body to the CNS (arriving at CNS)

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Sympathetic Nervous System

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Associated with arousal, it mobilizes bodily resources during stress ("fight or flight" response). It SPENDS energy and gets body ready for activity. Effects include pupil dilation, inhibition of tear glands and salivation, acceleration of heart action, opening of respiratory passages, inhibition of stomach contractions, peristalsis and digestive secretion, relaxes bladder, inhibits erection, liberates nutrient fuels

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Parasympathetic Nervous System

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Associated with calming, it operates during relaxed states and conserves energy (PRESERVE energy). It restores body's internal activities to normal after action has been completed. Effects include constriction of pupil, secretion of tears, salivation, slowing of heart action, constriction of respiratory passages, stomach contraction and secretion of digestive fluids, speeds peristalsis, bladder contraction, erection, permits sexual activity

Front 9

CT/CAT scan

Back 9

"Computerized (axial) tomography"-- involves a series of X rays of a brain area taken at different angles and then use of a computer to construct a detailed composite picture from the X ray images-- provides anatomical depiction

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MRI

Back 10

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-- safer than CAT scans because the involve no X rays, but pass a magnetic field through the brain to align the spinning of nuclei of all the atoms that make up the brain tissue. Then a brief pulse of electromagnetic energy is used to disrupt these spins and give of electromagnetic energy as they shift back into alignment with field-- energy detected is analyzed by computer and assembled into 3D representation of brain with healthy tissue, tumors, tissue degeneration, blood clots and leaks

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PET scan

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Positron Emission Tomography to provide precise 3D localization of brain function-- participant is injected with safe dose of radioactive sugar that resembles glucose so that when brain cells are more active at any moment, they will use more of the sugar and give off radioactivity to derive an image like the MRI and CT scans

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fMRI

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functional MRI scanning-- uses standard MRI procedures to detect relatively fast-changing aspects of brain physiology (mostly blood flow and oxygen use) without using any radioactivity--> result is 3D brain image showing active parts in a particular moment

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EEG

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electroencephalography detects tiny electrical currents generated by the neurons in the brain

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Corpus callosum

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Band of axons, neurons and nerve fibers that connects the 2 hemispheres of the brain (2 cerebrums)

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Cerebral cortex

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The outer covering of the brain that gives us the ability to be human-- split into the left and the right hemispheres.

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Cerebellum

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Part of the brain associated with balance and motor (body) control; located towards the back bottom, behind ear)

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Amygdala

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Part of the brain associated with emotionality; small part in middle of head next to hippocampus and under hypothalamus. Pathways between this and the thalamus influence emotional responses to certain stimuli. Part of limbic system.

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Thalamus

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Part of the brain associated as the sensory relay station that gets information you sense (see, hear, etc) and transmits it to the brain to be interpreted.

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Hippocampus

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Part of the brain involved in forming new memories and learning. Part of limbic system. Next to amygdala, near thalamus.

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Hypothalamus (4 F's)

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Part of the brain that regulates feeding, fleeting, fighting, and mating; controls the body's endocrine (hormone producing) system. Small and near thalamus.

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Forebrain

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site of most of the brain's conscious functions

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Brain stem

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Regulates control of involuntary functions such as breathing and heart rate

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Left hemisphere of the brain

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Associated with words and letters, language sounds, verbal memory, speech, grammar rules, reading and writing, arithmetic, ability to speak and desire to explain; "book smart"; analytical- figures things out step-by-step; language functions

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Right Hemisphere of the brain

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Associated with geometric patterns, faces, emotional expression, music, nonverbal memory (behaviors and actions), emotional tone of voice, geometry,sense of direction, negative emotions; "arts and entertainment" ; synthetic-figures things out by combining to form wholes; nonverbal abilities

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localization of function (hemispheric lateralization)

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each brain area has a specialized role/function/tasks but they all do work together

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contralateralization

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right brain hemisphere controls left side of body and left brain hemisphere controls right side of body-- 2 sides work together via corpus callosum

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split-brain research

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Learned through split brain research and cutting corpus callosum; different types of awareness that don't work in conjunction with one another

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neuroscience

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study of nature, functions, origins of nervous system through studying cells and brain

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Neuron

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Nerve cell, many different types and up to one billion in nervous system. Composed of dendrites, axons, and cell body.

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Glia

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cells that form neural paths to guide connections between neurons; support function of neurons, guide developing neurons, create myelin sheaths along the axons of neurons, stabalize connection patterns by shutting down neuronal growth, increase speed of neuronal communication

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cell body

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cell's life support center

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dendrites

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"input" side of neuron that receives signals from many other neurons, heavily branched,

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axon

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passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands; "output" side of neuron that sends neural impulses to other neurons, may have several axonal branches at end

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myelin sheath

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covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses, facilitates process to make it faster, made of a fatty substance

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axon terminals

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end of axon at synapse from which neurotransmitters are released for neuronal communication

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synaptic vessicles

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hold neurotransmitters in the axon terminals until they are signalled to be released into the synapse (fuse with membrane of axon terminal to release them)

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receptor

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cells on dendrite that receive signal from neurotransmitter and transduce the message to the neuron's cell body for it to be translated and sent

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synapse

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space between axon of one neuron and dendrite of the next over which neurotransmitters are sent and received

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action potential

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destabilization-restabilization sequence along an axon due to voltage differences across a membrane and exchange of sodium and potassium ions that sends a message down a neuron

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neurotransmitter

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chemical compounds that affect other neurons; 100s of types with slightly different effects; "lock and key" model

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ion channels

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biochemical portholes that let certain ions pass through but block out others

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motoneurons

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type of neuron that carries an efferent signal allowing the brain to control the muscles; provides pathway that starts at the CNS and transmits nerve impulse to a muscle fiber

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sensory neurons

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neurons that convey impulses from receptors toward the rest of the nervous system; receive information

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interneurons

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neurons that are interposed between two or more other neurons; most common type of neurons

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pons

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topmost portion of the hindbrain just above the medulla and in front of cerebellum that is involved in coordinating facial sensations and muscular actions and in regulation sleep and arousal