13 Coordination and Response

Question 1

What does the Central nervous system consist of?

Answer 1

the brain and spinal cord

Question 2

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

Answer 2

nerves and receptors outside the brain

Question 3

Role of a nervous system

Answer 3

coordinates and regulates body functions

Question 4

What is a reflex action?

Answer 4

A reflex action is an automatic action which rapidly integrates and coordinates stimuli with the responses of receptors

Question 5

What is a synapse?

Answer 5

The junction between two neurons. It ensures that impulses travel in one direction only.

Question 6

Adaptation of a neurone

Answer 6

1. Long axon to transmit impulses faster
2. Many dendrons to pick up electrical signals from other neurons
3. Myelin sheath insulates nerve fibres allowing electrical impulses to travel faster

Question 7

What occurs at a synapse?

Answer 7

1. An impulse stimulates vesicles to release neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic cleft
2. Neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the gap where they bind with receptor proteins on the next neurone
3. An impulse is then stimulated in the next neurone