Exam 2 Flashcards
(402 cards)
What is the Central Nervous System (CNS) protected by?
The skeleton
Where do the cranial nerves come off of?
The brainstem
Where do the spinal nerves come off of?
The spinal cord
What makes up the CNS?
The brain and spinal cord
What makes up the PNS?
Cranial nerves, spinal nerves, and ganglia.
What are the categories of the nervous system divided into?
Sensory nervous system and motor nervous system.
Describe the sensory nervous system.
Contains receptors that transmit information from receptors to the CNS.
Think of this as taking in information and sending it to the brain/spinal cord for processing.
What are the subcategories of the sensory nervous system?
Somatic sensory and visceral sensory.
Describe the somatic sensory system.
Receives sensory information from the skin and special senses. We are consciously aware of these.
Describe the visceral sensory system.
Receives sensory information from viscera (blood vessels and organs). We are NOT consciously aware of this.
Provide two examples of information that the visceral sensory system might receive.
pH levels and oxygen levels.
Describe the motor nervous system.
Transmits information from the CNS to the rest of the body to perform actions. It is sending motor information to effectors.
What are the subcategories of the motor nervous system?
Somatic motor and autonomic motor.
Describe the somatic motor system.
This is our VOLUNTARY motor nervous system in which skeletal muscle is innervated.
Describe the autonomic motor system.
This is our INVOLUNTARY motor nervous system in which cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands are innervated.
What is the metabolic rate for a neuron? As a result, what do they depend on?
Neurons have a high metabolic rate and depend on a constant supply of glucose and oxygen.
T/F: Most of our neurons have a short lifespan.
False! Neurons have extreme longevity in that they stick with us from fetus to elderly age.
T/F: Neurons cannot change, however, they do divide.
False! Neurons CAN change, but CANNOT divide.
How do neurons change?
They can have more or less branching patterns and connections.
Think of the saying “use it or lose it”. This is referring to how we need to use pathways in our brain to strengthen them or we can lose how strong they are.
What do unipolar neurons do?
Carry sensation from the skin.
What do the dendrites in unipolar neurons do?
Sense different types of touch.
Unipolar neurons have a short single process. What is this comprised of?
The short single process is divided into a peripheral process, near where the dendrites are, and a central process, near where the axons are.
In a unipolar neuron, what does the cell body do?
It takes information from the peripheral process, generates a response, and then sends this response to the central process.
What type of neuron is this? Where would we find this?
Unipolar neuron. This is a sensory neuron that can help us sense different types of touch.