Ch 4 vocab

Question 1

dendritic spines

Answer 1

small protrusions from dendrites that increase the cell’s surface area

Question 2

axon collaterals

Answer 2

usually emerge from axons at right angles

Question 3

teleodendria

Answer 3

“end branches” tiny branches of axon collaterals that contact the dendrites of another neuron

Question 4

terminal button

Answer 4

“end foot” sits close to the dendritic spines of another neuron but doesn’t touch

Question 5

synapse

Answer 5

the almost connection between the surface of an axon’s end foot and the corresponding surface of the neighboring dendritic spine plus the space between.

Question 6

axon hillock

Answer 6

“little hill” beginning of an axon from cell body (soma.)

Question 7

inhibitory

Answer 7

decrease a neuron’s ability to pass information

Question 8

excitatory

Answer 8

increase a neuron’s ability to pass information

Question 9

neurotransmitter

Answer 9

a chemical message released by terminal buttons that carry the signal across the synapse to influence the target cell’s electrical activity and pass information along.

Question 10

nucleus

Answer 10

houses genes and chromosomes (blueprints); is where the cells proteins are stored and copied.

Question 11

endoplasmic reticulum

Answer 11

an extension of the nuclear membrane where the cell’s protein products are assembled.

Question 12

Golgi bodies

Answer 12

packing and addressing center of the cell where proteins are readied for transport.

Question 13

tubules

Answer 13

variety of kinds of thin rods of material in cells that provide structure, aid in movement, and serve as pathways for the transport of material within a cell.