psych exam 2

nervous system function

• it receives sensory inputs from the world (vision, touch, taste, and smell)

• it processes this information in the brain by paying attention to it and remembering it

• it responds to the information by acting on it

2 division of the nervous system

central nervous system (CNS)- spinal cord and nerve cells in the brain

peripheral nervous system (PNS)- consist of all nerve cell throughout the body except those in the brain and spinal cord

transmission phase

communication between neurons and it begins when there is enough stimulation in the presynaptic neuron (A) to create action potential. that action potential travels quickly down the axon to the terminal buttons

somatic nervous system

skin, muscles, and joints sending signals to the brain and spinal cord; brain and spinal cord send signals to the muscles, joints, and skin

automatic nervous system

glands and internal organs send signals to the spinal cord and brain; brain and spinal cord send signals to the glands and internal organs

sympathetic nervous system

Fight or flight response system

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest

neurons

basic units of the nervous system; these cells receive, integrate, and transmit information in the nervous system

dendrites

branchlike extensions of the neurons cell body with receptors that receive information from other neurons

cell body

part of the neuron where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and intergrated

axon

a long, narrow outgrowth of a neuron cell body that lets the neuron transmit information to other neurons

terminal buttons

part of the neuron at the end of the axons that release chemical signals from the neuron into the synapse

synapse

The gap between the terminal buttons of a sending neuron and the dendrites of a receiving neuron

neurotransmitters

chemicals that carry signals from one neuron to another

reception phase

the neurotransmitters across the synapse and fit into receptors in the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron

integration phase

each neurotransmitter has either excitatory or inhibitory effects on the postsynaptic neuron these effects are summed together in the cell body. if there is enough activation, it will lead to another action potential

action potential

the neural impulse that travels along the axon and then causes the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse

Myelin sheath

a fatty material that covers and insulates some axons to allow for allow for faster movement of electrical impulses along the axon

presynaptic

something that occurs in the sending neurons before the synapse (the gap between the neurons)

postsynaptic

something that occurs in the receiving neurons after the synapse (the gap between the neurons)

excitatory signal

they increase the likelihood that it will fire an action potential

inhibitory signal

they decrease the likelihood that it will fire an action potential

hindbrain

medulla

pons

cerebellum

medulla oblongata

breathing, heart rate, blood pressure other survival mechanisms (closest to the spinal cord)

Pons

helps regulate sleep (REM), arousal, left right movement coordination (located between midbrain and medulla)

cerebullum

posture, motor learning, coordination, balance. allowing you to walk, write, and catch a ball without falling (back of the brain under cerebrum)

midbrain

substantia nigra

substantia nigra

initiation of voluntary motor activity

forebrain

• thalamus

• hypothalamus

• hippocampus

• amygdala