Biology nervous system test

Components of of the CNS

Brain and spinal cord

Components of the PNS

Cranial nerves, and spinal nerves and their branches

Define sensory functions of the nervous system

Involves gathering information about the internal and external environment of the body

Define integrative functions of the nervous system

Analyze and interpret incoming sensory information and determine an appropriate response

Define motor functions of the nervous system

Actions performed in response to integration

Components of a neuron

Various types of cells that make up nervous tissue

Excitable cells: send electric signals, and are responsible for sending and receiving action potentials

Neuroglial cells: smaller, more prevalent cells, and serve supportive functions

Function of myelin sheath

Insulating coating around the axon which helps electrical messages move faster.

Define neurotransmitter

An electrical message converted to its chemical form

What happens to a neurotransmitter in a synaptic cleft

Travels across the space and binds to receptors on the postsynaptic cell to pass along a signal

Role of dopamine in addiction

Dopamine is increased from the use of drugs

Define psychoactive drug

The chemicals that cross the blood brain barrier, interact with the brain, and affect the neurotransmitters in the brain.

How does caffeine work

Binds to the adenosine receptors so that adenosine can’t bind there.

How does alcohol work

Modulates receptors for several neurotransmitters including GABA and Glutamate, which inhibits brain activity, and also slows electrical messages.

Why shouldn’t you take other meds with alcohol

The liver prioritizes alcohol because it is more toxic, so other drugs you take circulate while your liver is breaking down the alcohol

What is fetal alcohol syndrome

Damages the brain of a developing baby when a fetus is exposed to a single drink of alcohol

How does nicotine work

Overstimulate the reward circuit, resulting in a large dopamine release. Binds to the ACh receptor and activates it, so it mimics ACh.

Describe opioids

Analgesics which reduce plain without eliminating sensation.

Compare analgesics with anesthesia

Relief or reduction of pain vs. loss of sensation

Name the process that has led to psychoactive drugs becoming a problem

The active ingredient in drugs was isolated from the plants.

History of marijuana in the US

Assassins who were terrorizing Persia in the 11th century were not afraid of death, were under command of Al Sabbah. He made them not afraid of death by showing them what they would get when they died, paradise. The story got confused over time, saying the drug made the soldiers ruthless.

Explain the mechanism of how marijuan interacts with neurotransmitters

Binds to the cannabinoid receptor, which normally binds to anandamide, a natural cannabinoid in the body.

Who was Harry J. Anslinger

First director of Federal Bureau of Narcotics and used this story to turn the little known drug of laziness into one of violence.

Apply your understanding of the drug schedule to discuss whether or not marijuana should be a Schedule 1 drug

Marijuana should not be a schedule 1 drug because there are medical uses for marijuana, such as pain suppression. People who used marijuana were thought to be minorities and people wanted a reason to be mean to them, so they made it illegal and more likely for them to go to jail.

Discuss complications of changing MDMA from Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 drug

Partly cost and partly because it is a schedule 1 drug with a negative history.

Discuss the medical implications of the use of psilocybin

It can help neural connections lost to depression grow back, relieve depression systems and other mental disorders. Affects sensory processing and connection between brain neurons.

What is sleep

Temporary unconsciousness from which you can be awakened.

What is a coma

State of unconsciousness from which you cannot be awakened.

What is habituation and give an example

Ability to ignore stimuli that are inconsequential (background music or a parent) while remaining sensitive to other stimuli that may be different or new.

List the diseases that might happen due to a lack of sleep

Breast cancer, obesity, high-blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease.

Explain what someone who works the night shift could do to make sure they get good sleep

Get darker shades to make your body think it is time to sleep, wear a sleep mask, wear earplugs, and get a comfy bed.

Explain how sleep increases long term memory

They are consolidated by activity in the hippocampus, enhanced during sleep, usually during REM sleep.

Discuss how sleep affects build up of amyloid beta and tau

They are washed away during sleep. Amyloid beta forms clumps, and are harder to wash out the less you sleep, and accumulate. The same thing happens with tau because they form tangles that are hard to wash out as well.

Suggest things that could be done to get a good sleep

Be active during the day so you are tired at night, avoid heavy food, alcohol, or caffeine before bed, be out in the sun so your body is ready for night, go to and wake up from bed at the same time, write down worries for tomorrow, relaxing routine, keep eating and being on your phone out of the bedroom, keep the room cool, and dark, and get a comfy bed you can stretch out in.