Peripheral Nervous System

Peripheral Nervous System

• what does it do

• What are the two primary components? (no need for def)

• Transmits info to the DNA, and responds to messages from the CNS to perform certain behaviours or make bodigy adjustments

• Somatic nervous system (SNS)

• Autonomic nervous system

(ANS)

The somatic Nervous System

• function

• What is it known as what type of pathway?

• Concerned with the external environment

• Commands voluntary movement, what are you doing right now, consciousness

• The efferent pathway

• voluntary motor control; reflex arc (e.g. doctor bangs your knee; helps to walk properly; only monosynaptic reflex arc we have) - one synpasis between afferent and afferent neuron

• includes sensory neurons that pick up on information from the external world, sending the info to the central nervous system

  • Conscious perception of our environment: picking up sensory info

The autonomic nervous system

• Concerned with what environment

• Conscious or unconscious?

• What are the two major divisions of the ANS

• concern with the internal environment

• No conscious control over (e.g. breathing, digestion, heart rate)

• Between the CNS smooth muscles and glands (e.g. for digestion)

Divisions

• Sympathetic

• Parasympathetic division

Sympathetic divison

• why does it activate. Does it activate all the time?

• Fight or flight

• Prepares the body for action

• e.g. preparing a body to fight or to flee

  • e.g. giving blood to muscles and extremities and away from things that don’t have priority (like digestion is not important right now so that can be slowed down)

• This doesn’t activate all the time

Parasympathetic Nervous System

• Function compared to the sympathetic nervous system.

• Is the sympathetic nervous system always fighting with this system? If so, why not?

• Returns the body to its normal, resting states, the deactivated of flight or fight state

• Not an antagonist system

• Opposing function of the sympathetic system but two systems work in a complementary fashion

• One division always activate is not good

  • e.g. always on sympathetic division (too much blood flow, heart attacks, etc)

  • e.g. always on parasympathetic: will become depressed, etc

The endocrine system

• what is the importance of this system with the other system discussed in the flashcards

• What is the important of hormones

• the endocrine system works with the nervous system to regulate psychological activity

• Works with the pituirity gland

  • Anterior pituitary - produces hormones

    • Growth hormones, follicle, ect

  • Posterior pituitary

    • Does not make the hormones, made by the hypothalamus

Hormones

• Chemical substances released into the blood stream by the endocrine glands until they reach the targeted tissues

The Endocrine system

• Function

• working between hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and hormone travelling

• Provide the example of stress (Hypothalamic → pituitary → adrenal)

  • What happens if there is a disorder?

• Sytem that releases hormones into the bloodstream

• Neural activates causes the hypothalamus to secrete a releasing factor

• The pituitary gland will receive that releasing factor to release the hormone specific to that factor

• Hormone travelled to the bloodstream to target sites in the body

• Due to a disorder, it will lead to the lack and excretion of hormone, which may improve certain aspects of life, but overall will affect the individual’s health