| Question | Answer |
| What are the two parts of the nervous system? | central and peripheral |
| what makes up the central? | brain, spinal cord |
| what makes up the peripheral? | somatic and autonomic |
| somatic: | what I can control |
| autonomic: | what I do involuntarily such as my heart beating, digestion, breathing, etc. |
| what are the two parts of autonomic? | sympathetic, and parasympathetic |
| sympathetic: | when your heart is beating fast, you're using alot of energy (flight or fight) -- like this when you're stressed |
| parasympathetic: | body returning to normal state; balanced state; homeostasis (sex, digestion, etc.) |
| in order to be as healthy as possible: | your sympathetic and parasympathetic must be in balance |
| What does the brain do? | basic bodily function and survival, motivation and emotion, complex activities |
| What are the 3 main parts of the brain? | the hindbrain (brain stem), cerebellum, midbrain, and forebrain |
| what are the 3 main parts of the hindbrain? | medulla, pons, and cerebellum |
| what is the medulla in charge of? | vital bodily functions (breathing, swallowing, blood circulation) |
| what is the pons in charge of? | it's the bridge from the spinal cord to the brain; through which sensory and motor info. passes; also in charge of sleep, arousal, regulation of muscle tone |
| What is the cerebellum in charge of? | really really basic motor activities (balance, walking, throwing, grabbing) |
| What is the midbrain in charge of? | contains primitive centers for vision and hearing |
| what are the 3 main parts of the forebrain? | corpus callosum, cerebral cortex/cerebrum, and the subcortical structures |
| What are the three subcortical structures? | the limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus |
| What does the corpus callosum do? | it is a wide band of fibers that connect the two hemispheres |
| what is the cerbral cortex/cerebrum? | the wrinkley part of the brain |
| limbic system: | motivational behaviors |
| thalamus: | relay center (decides what comes into your brain and what goes out) helps you survive |
| hypothalamus: | pleasure center (hunger, thirst, sexual behavior) |
| what are the technical terms for the folds and wrinkles on the cerebrum? | gyrus and fissures |
| what are the 5 parts of the cerebrum? | frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, and ventricles |
| what does the frontal lobe do? | motor cortex; Brocas area = produces speech |
| what does the parietal lobe do? | somatosensory; touch, temperature, pressure |
| what does the occipital lobe do? | vision |
| what does the temporal lobe do? | stores hearing, memory, and personality; Wernickes Area... comprehension |
| when a person has a stroke, what is more likely to be damaged, the Brocas or the Wernickes? | Brocas. The person will still be able to understand you, but they cannot respond |
| what are the ventricles? | empty chambers in the brain |
| what do the ventricles do? | hold spinal fluid |
| if you have too much spinal fluid you get | hydrocephalus |
| What is the meninges? | the 3 membranes covering the brain and spinal cord |
| Lateralization of Function: | the idea that the two hemispheres of the brain are somewhat specialized |
| the research suggests that the left brain: | is better at math, language, and speech |
| research suggests that the right brain: | is better at creativity, sports, music, and space perception |
| Brain cells AKA | neurons |
| Neurons are involved with: | receiving, moving, and processing information |
| where are neurons located? | in the brain and central and peripheral nervous system |
| dendrites: | recieves info and transmits the info across the cell membrane of neurons |
| Action potential: | a rapid shift in the electrical charge; the electrical charge |
| Cell body: | nucleus |
| axon: | the part of the neuron that conducts action potential away from the cell body |
| axon is covered by: | a fatty material called Myelin |
| these cells surround, support, and protect neurons | Glial cells |
| Nodes of Ranvier: | small gaps in the myelin sheath |
| Axon terminals: | structures at the end of axons that contain neurotransmitters |
| give two examples of neurotransmitters and what they are for: | acetylcholine for memory; serotonin for sleep |
| synapse: | a region where the axon of one neuron closely approaches other neurons or other cells |
