Sense Organs
body structures that gather info from surroundings
Stimuli
change/signal in environment organism can react to
Nervous System
receives info of what’s happening in and outside the body; directs how body reacts to this; maintains homeostasis
Divisions of Nervous System
Central NS
Brain
Spinal Cord
Peripheral NS
Somatic NS
Automatic NS
Sympathetic NS
Parasympathetic NS
Peripheral Nervous System
gathers info and carries out activity; like workers in a corporate company;
Somatic Nervous System
controls voluntary actions
Automatic Nervous System
control involuntary actions
Sympathetic Nervous System
at work when body is at rest/relaxed (homeostasis)
Parasympathetic Nervous System
active when in flight/fight/freeze reaction
Central Nervous System
directs body activities and interprets stimuli; the a-hole boss you gotta listen to.
Spinal Cord
thick bundle of nerves through vertebrae; connects brain to PNS
Brain
86 billion interneurons and neurons, central control of Nervous System.
Brain Stem
Control involuntary functions, connects the brain to the spinal cord
Cerebrum
“Thinking”, problem-solving, learning, voluntary actions,
4 lobes split into left and right hemisphere connected by the corpus callosum
Cerebelium
coordinates muscle movement/balance
Frontal lobe
thinking, reasoning, behaviors, judgement
Parietal lobe
perception of stimuli
Temporal lobe
language, learning
Occipital lobe
vision and spacial reasoning
Limbic system
set of brain structures located at the top of the brain stem involved in emotions, motivation, and memory, especially those related to survival
Amygdala
almond shaped structure; responsible for automatic responses associated with fear and hormones; determines memory storage
Hippocampus
directs long-term memories to appropriate storage areas and retrieves memories
Hypothalamus
connects brain to endocrine system; what releases hormones
Thalamus
controls sleep/ consciousness by relaying sensory receptors between the brain stem and cerebral
Nerve Impulse
message neurons can carry
Neurons
Cells that carry info through the nervous system
Types of Neurons
Sensory Neurons
Interneurons
Motor Neurons
Sensory Neurons
pick up stimuli; converts in to nerve impulse; impulse travels with other sensory neurons til it reaches interneurons; usually in brain or spinal cord
Interneurons
carry nerve impulse to another interneuron or motor neuron
Motor Neurons
send impulse to a muscle or gland enabling it to respond
Neuron Vocabulary
Dendrite
Axon tips
Axon
Synapse
Salutatory conduction
Myelin sheath
Dendrites
thread-like extensions of a neuron that picks up nerve impulses
Axon
Long structure leading away from cell body; cells only have one axon
Synapse
liquid in between neurons where neurons transfer impulses; impulses are changed from electrical to chemical to cross gap of synapse.
Saltatory conduction
Process of which an impulse skips down the axon.
Axon tips
branch-like structure at end of an axon that transfers nerve impulses to other neurons.
Myelin sheath
a layer around axons that allow nerve impulses to travel faster; myelination, the process where a neuron due to a change or maturing develops a myelin sheath. Pruning; the removal of the myelin sheath.
Neurotransmitters
Serotonin
Apetite
Melatonin
Dopamine
Epinephrine (Adrenaline)
Cortisol
Serotonin
sleep, mood,
Apetite
mood, etc
Melatonin
sleep/tiredness
dopamine
happiness/reward
epinephrine(adrenaline)
excitement/fear/flight/fight/freeze
cortisol
stress hormones
How nerve impulse travels
Sensory neurons gather stimuli/ info and create electrical signal that moves from dendrites to axon →
Electrical signal move down axon by saltatory conduction →
Axon tips convert signals to chemical neurotransmitters so signals can cross synapse (goo) to interneurons →
Interneurons interpret info/signals →
message/reactions get sent back to motor neurons to carry out reactions
Eye
Respond to stimuli of light; convert to impulse the brain can interprets.
Eye Vocab
Cornea
Pupil
Iris
Lens
Aqueous Humor
Retina
Rods
Cones
Optic Nerve
Optic Nerve
carry light sensory info from retina to the cerebrum
Cornea
where light strikes first; clear tissue covers front of the eye
Aqueous Humor
clear jelly-like fluid between cornea and lens
Pupil
opening which light enters through
Iris
Circular structure; muscles in iris adjust how much light enters pupil; gives color to eye
Lens
Flexible structure that focuses light; flips image upside down
Retina
lines the back of eye; contains light sensitive cells
Rods
work best in dim light; detects black, white, shades of gray
Cones
work best in bright light; detects colors
Farsightedness
blurry nearby; clear far; short eyeballs; fixed by convex lens
Nearsightedness
blurry far; clear nearby; long eyeballs; fixed by concave lens
Ear
Sense organ that responds to the stimuli of sound; converts sound to impulses the brain can interpret
Ear Vocab
Outer
Ear Canal
Middle
Eardrum
Hammer/Anvil/Stirrup
Inner
Cochlea
Semicircular canal
Auditory nerve
Ear Canal
Funnel shaped; gather sound waves; waves travel down ear canal
Eardrum
membrane that vibrates when sound waves hit it
Hammer/Anvil/Stirrup
small bones pass vibrations to each other
Cochlea
snail shaped tube lined w/ sound receptor cells; receive vibrations from stirrup that travels via liquid in the cochlea; Vibrations stimulate receptors which send nerve impulse through the auditory nerve
Semicircular Canal
above cochlea; help maintain balance; Semicircular canal and two sacs behind it are filled with fluid and lined with tiny cells with hair-like extensions. When the head moves, the fluid moves causing the extensions to bend stimulating the receptors and creating nerve impulses containing info about the body’s motion and position.
Auditory Nerve
carry auditory sensory info from cochlea to the cerebrum
Taste bud
sensory receptors on tongue; respond to chemicals dissolved by saliva; main taste sensations: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, unami
Touch receptors
First type responds to delicate/light touch; senses textures; located in upper part of dermis
Second type responds to heavy pressure; located deeper in the dermis
Other types respond to temperature and pain
Olfactory Bulb
two, one above each nasal cavity, picks up info about smell and sends it to brain.