Chapter 2 (neuroscience) Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Brain and Spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System
the sensory and
motor neurons that connect the central nervous
system (CNS) to the rest of the body
Autonomic nervous system
Controls involuntary bodily functions and regulates glands.
Somatic nervous system
Controls muscle movement and relays information from ears, eyes and skin to the central nervous system.
Sympathetic nervous system
Responds to dangerous or stressful situations
Parasympathetic nervous system
responsible for the body’s rest and digestion response when the body is relaxed, resting, or feeding.
Cell Body
Life support center of the neuron
Dendrites
Branching extensions at the cell body and receives messages from other neurons
Axon
Long single extension of a neuron, covered with myelin sheath to insulate and speed up messages through neurons.
Terminal Branches
Branched endings of an axon that transmit messages to other neurons.
How Neurons
Work/Transmit Information
Neurons function using electro-chemical processes
Axonal Transmission
A neural impulse. A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Synaptic Transmission
occurs when neurotransmitters are released into the synapse
All-or-None Response
A strong stimulus can trigger more neurons to fire, and to fire more often, but it does not affect the action potentials strength or speed
What happens to the Intensity of an action potential?
remains the same
throughout the length of the axon
what’s the tiny gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
synaptic gap
Reuptake
Neurotransmitters in the synapse are reabsorbed into the
sending neurons through the process
Lock & Key Mechanism
Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the receiving neuron
