B6: Brain and Mind

Responding to Environmental Changes
1. Responding to a Stimulus
  1. STIMULUS: a change in the environment of an organism
  2. animals respond to stimuli in order to keep themselves in favourable conditions, eg...
    1. moving to somewhere warmer if they're too cold
    2. moving towards food if they're hungry
    3. moving away from danger to protect themselves
  3. not responding to a stimulus is a super effective way to die - at the end of the day stimuli are there to keep organisms alive
2. Receptors
  1. RECEPTOR: an organ or cell able to detect an external stimulus and transmit a signal to a sensory nerve, par exemple...
    1. light receptor cells in the retina of the eye
    2. sound receptors in the ear
    3. position receptors in the inner ear
    4. chemical receptors in the nose and tongue
    5. touch, pressure, temperature and pain receptors in skin
  2. receptors respond to a stimulus and send an impulse along SENSORY NEURONS to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
3. Simple Reflexes
  1. simple reflexes produce rapid INVOLUNTARY RESPONSES to a stimulus
    1. this gives an animal the highest chance of survival
    2. यथा...
      1. moving towards and finding food
      2. moving away and sheltering from predators
      3. moving towards and finding a mate
      4. pupil dilation
      5. babies sucking nipples when said nipples are placed inside said babies' mouths
      6. knee jerk reflex
  2. mostly used by 'simple' animals (eg. amoeba blublublub)
4. Effectors
  1. EFFECTOR: an organ or cell that acts in response to a stimulus
    1. either glands or muscles (in multicellular organisms)
  2. carry out the body's response to stimuli
The Nervous System
Conditioned Reflex Responses
Complex Behaviour

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B6: Brain and Mind

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	Created by Matthew Law about 10 years ago