Chapter 12: Nervous System Flashcards
3 nervous system functions
sensory receptors monitor changes inside and outside the body; processes and interprets sensory input; dictates a response by activating effector organs
Central Nervous System (CNS)
brain and spinal cord; integration and command center
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
nerves extending from brain and spinal cord; link all regions of body to CNS
sensory
afferent signals picked up by sensory receptors; carried by nerve fibers of PNS to CNS
motor
efferent signals carried away from the CNS; innervate muscles and glands
somatic sensory
dectect touch, pain, pressure, hearing balance and proprioceptive senses (detect stretch in tendons and muscles)
visceral sensory
stretch, pain, hunger, taste, and smell
somatic motor
contraction of skeletal muscles; voluntary control
visceral motor
regulates contraction of smooth and cardiac muscle; involuntary control
neurons
excitable cell that transmits electrical signals
neuroglia
nonexcitable support cells; surround and wrap neurons
ganglia
clusters of cell bodies; lie along nerves in PNS
special charcteristics of neuron
longevity(live and function for a lifetime); do not divide; high metabolic rate(require abundant oxygen and glucose
dendrites
extensive branching from cell body; receptive sites
axons
one per neuron; impulse generators and conductors; transmit impulses away from cell body
neurotransmitters
excite or inhibit neurons; released from axon terminals
presynaptic neuron
conducts signal toward a synapse
postsynaptic neuron
transmits electrical activity away from a synapse