Chapter 31.1 Flashcards
What are the functions of the nervous system?
1) Collect information about the body’s internal and external environment 2) Processes that information 3) Responds (CPR)=> Collect, Process, Respond
What is the function of neurons?
Nervous System impulses are transmitted by neurons. (carries electrical signals to various locations around the body)
How does a nerve impulse begin?
An impulse begins when a neuron is stimulated by another neuron or by the environment.
What are the two divisions of the nervous system?
Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System
What does the Central Nervous System consist of?
Brain and Spinal Cord that processes information
What does the Peripheral Nervous System consist of?
nerves and supporting cells that collect information
What is an action potential?
the reversal of charges (depolarization) from more negatively to more positively charged. AKA nerve impulse
What is a resting potential?
The difference in charge across a membrane (usually -70mV) which allows a membrane to act like a battery
roughly 1/20th of the voltage in a flashlight battery
What is threshold potential?
the minimum level of a stimulus that is required to cause an impulse in a neuron
What is a synapse?
the gap between neurons where an impulse can be carried by neurotransmitters.
(AKA: the synaptic cleft)
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemicals that transmit an impulse across a synapse to another cell
Examples (Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin)
What is an axon?
the long fiber that carries impulses away from the cell body
(like a copper wire)
What is a myelin?
an insulating membrane that surrounds an axon
(speeds up neural signaling)
What is a cell body? (soma)
Largest part of the typical neuron that contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm
