Nerve Tissue & the Nervous System Flashcards
The ______, by far the most complex system in the body, is formed by a network of many billion ______ (______), all assisted by many more supporting cells called ______.
human nervous system, nerve cells, neurons, glial cells
Each neuron has hundreds of interconnections with other ______, forming a very complex system for ______ and ______.
neurons, processing information, generating responses
______ is distributed throughout the body as an integrated communications network.
Nerve tissue
Anatomically, the general organization of the nervous system has two major divisions:
Central nervous system (CNS)
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Anatomically, the general organization of the nervous system has two major divisions:
______, consisting of the brain and spinal cord
Central nervous system (CNS)
Anatomically, the general organization of the nervous system has two major divisions:
______, composed of the cranial, spinal, and peripheral nerves conducting impulses to and from the CNS (sensory and motor nerves, respectively) and ______ that are small aggregates of nerve cells outside the CNS.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS), ganglia
Anatomically the nervous system is divided into the ______ and ______, which have the major components.
CNS, PNS
Functionally the nervous system consists of the following:
- Sensory division (afferent)
a. Somatic
b. Visceral - Motor division (efferent)
a. Somatic
b. Autonomic
Functionally the nervous system consists of the following:
Sensory division (______)
______ - sensory input perceived consciously (eg, from eyes, ears, skin, and musculoskeletal structures)
afferent, Somatic
Functionally the nervous system consists of the following:
Sensory division (______)
______ - sensory input not perceived consciously (eg, from internal organs and cardiovascular structures)
afferent, Visceral
Functionally the nervous system consists of the following:
Motor division (______)
______ - motor output controlled consciously or voluntarily (eg, by skeletal muscle effectors)
efferent, Somatic
Functionally the nervous system consists of the following:
Motor division (______)
______ - motor output not controlled consciously (eg, by heart or gland effectors)
efferent, Autonomic
The autonomic motor nerves, comprising what is often called the ______, all have pathways involving two neurons: a ______ neuron with the cell body in the CNS and a ______ neuron with the cell body in a ganglion.
autonomic nervous system (ANS), preganglionic, postganglionic
The ANS has two divisions:
parasympathetic division
sympathetic division
The ANS has two divisions:
The ______, with its ganglia within or near the effector organs, maintains normal body homeostasis.
parasympathetic division
The ANS has two divisions:
The ______ has its ganglia close to the CNS and controls the body’s responses during emergencies and excitement.
sympathetic division
ANS components located in the wall of the digestive tract are sometimes referred to as ______.
enteric nervous system
Cells in both central and peripheral nerve tissue are of two kinds: ______, which typically have numerous long processes, and various ______ (Gr. glia, glue), which have short processes, support and protect neurons, and participate in many neural activities, neural nutrition, and defense of cells in the CNS.
neurons, glial cells
Neurons respond to ______ (______) by altering the ______ that exists across their ______.
environmental changes, stimuli, ionic gradient, plasma membranes
All cells maintain such a gradient (ionic gradient), also called an ______, but cells that can rapidly change this potential in response to stimuli (eg, neurons, muscle cells, some gland cells) are said to be ______ or ______.
electrical potential, excitable, irritable
Neurons react promptly to stimuli with a reversal of the ______ (______) that generally spreads from the place that received the stimulus and is propagated across the neuron’s entire ______.
ionic gradient, membrane depolarization, plasma membrane
This propagation, called the ______, the ______, or the ______, is capable of traveling long distances along neuronal processes, transmitting such signals to other neurons, muscles, and glands.
action potential, depolarization wave, nerve impulse
Development of Nerve Tissue
- The nervous system develops from the ______ of the three early embryonic layers, the ______, beginning in the ______ week of development
outermost, ectoderm, third
Development of Nerve Tissue
- With signals from the underlying axial structure, the ______, ectoderm on the mid-dorsal side of the embryo thickens to form the ______.
notochord, epithelial neural plate
Development of Nerve Tissue
- The sides of this plate fold upward and grow toward each other medially, and within a few days fuse to form the ______. Cells of this tube give rise to the entire ______, including ______ and most ______.
neural tube, CNS, neurons, glial cells
Development of Nerve Tissue
- As the folds fuse and the neural tube separates from the now overlying surface ______ that will form ______, a large population of developmentally important cells, the ______, separates from the neuroepithelium and becomes ______.
ectoderm, epidermis, neural crest, mesenchymal
Development of Nerve Tissue
- ______ migrate extensively and differentiate as all the cells of the ______, as well as a number of other ______.
Neural crest cells, PNS, non-neuronal cell types
The functional unit in both the CNS and PNS is the ______. Some neuronal components have special names, such as “______” for the cell membrane.
neuron, neu-rolemma
Most neurons have three main parts:
cell body
dendrites
axon
Most neurons have three main parts:
The ______ (also called the ______ or ______), which contains the nucleus and most of the cell’s organelles and serves as the synthetic or trophic center for the entire neuron.
cell body, perikaryon, soma
Most neurons have three main parts:
The ______, which are the numerous elongated processes extending from the perikaryon and specialized to receive stimuli from other neurons at unique sites called ______.
dendrites, synapses
Most neurons have three main parts:
The ______, which is a single long process ending at synapses specialized to generate and conduct nerve impulses to other cells (eg, nerve, muscle, and gland cells).
axon
Axons may also receive information from other neurons, information that mainly modifies the transmission of ______ to those neurons.
action potentials
______ and their processes or “______” are variable in size and shape. Cell bodies can be very large, measuring up to ______ in diameter. Other neurons, such as those in the ______, are among the body’s ______ cells.
Neurons, nerve fibers, 150 μm, cerebellar granular layer, smallest
Neurons can be classified according to the number of processes extending from the cell body:
Multipolar neurons
Bipolar neurons
Unipolar or pseudounipolar neurons
Anaxonic neurons
Neurons can be classified according to the number of processes extending from the cell body:
______, each with one axon and two or more dendrites, are the most common.
Multipolar neurons
Neurons can be classified according to the number of processes extending from the cell body:
______, with one dendrite and one axon, comprise the sensory neurons of the retina, the olfactory epithelium, and the inner ear.
Bipolar neurons
Neurons can be classified according to the number of processes extending from the cell body:
______, which include all other sensory neurons, each have a single process that bifurcates close to the perikaryon, with the longer branch extending to a peripheral ending and the other toward the CNS.
Unipolar or pseudounipolar neurons
Neurons can be classified according to the number of processes extending from the cell body:
______, with many dendrites but no true axon, do not produce action potentials, but regulate electrical changes of adjacent CNS neurons.
Anaxonic neurons
Because the ______ emerging from cell bodies are seldom seen in sections of nervous tissue, it is difficult to classify neurons structurally by ______.
fine processes, microscopic inspection
______ can also be subdivided functionally.
Nervous components
______ neurons are afferent, receiving stimuli from receptors throughout the body.
Sensory
______ neurons are efferent, sending impulses to effector organs such as muscle fibers and glands.
Motor
______ motor nerves are under voluntary control and typically innervate skeletal muscle.
Somatic
______ motor nerves control the involuntary or unconscious activities of glands, cardiac muscle, and most smooth muscle.
Autonomic
______ establish relationships among other neurons, forming complex functional networks or circuits in the ______.
Interneurons, CNS
Interneurons are either ______ or ______ and comprise ______% of all neurons in adults.
multipolar, anaxonic, 99
In the CNS most neuronal perikarya occur in the ______, with their axons concentrated in the ______. These terms refer to the general appearance of unstained ______ caused in part by the different ______ of nerve cell bodies.
gray matter, white matter, CNS tissue, densities
In the PNS cell bodies are found in ______ and in some ______, such as the ______, and axons are bundled in ______.
ganglia, sensory regions, olfactory mucosa, nerves
______ is a slowly progressing disorder affecting muscular activity characterized by tremors, reduced activity of the facial muscles, loss of balance, and postural stiffness.
Parkinson disease
Parkinson disease
It is caused by gradual loss by ______ of ______ neurons whose cell bodies lie within the nuclei of the ______.
apoptosis, dopamine- producing, CNS substantia nigra
Parkinson disease is treated with ______ (______), a precursor of dopamine that augments the declining production of this neurotransmitter.
l-dopa, l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine
The neuronal ______ contains the nucleus and surrounding cytoplasm, exclusive of the cell processes.
cell body
______
- It acts as a trophic center, producing most cytoplasm for the processes.
Cell Body
Most cell bodies are in contact with a great number of ______ conveying ______ or ______ stimuli generated in other neurons.
nerve endings, excitatory, inhibitory
A typical neuron has an unusually large, ______ nucleus with a prominent ______, indicating intense synthetic activity.
euchromatic, nucleolus
Cytoplasm of perikarya often contains numerous ______ and highly developed ______, indicating active production of both ______ proteins and proteins for ______ and ______.
free polyribosomes, RER, cytoskeletal, transport, secretion
Histologically these regions with concentrated RER and other polysomes are ______ and are distinguished as ______ (or ______, ______).
The amount of this material varies with the type and functional state of the neuron and is particularly abundant in large nerve cells such as ______ neurons.
basophilic, chromatophilic substance, Nissl substance, Nissl bodies, motor
The ______ is located only in the cell body, but ______ can be found throughout the cell and are usually abundant in the ______.
Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, axon terminals
In both perikarya and processes microtubules, ______ and ______ are abundant, with the latter formed by unique protein subunits and called ______ in this cell type.
actin filaments, intermediate filaments, neurofilaments
Cross-linked with certain fixatives and impregnated with ______, neurofilaments are also referred to as ______ by light microscopists.
silver stains, neurofibrils
Some nerve cell bodies also contain inclusions of pigmented material, such as ______, consisting of residual bodies left from ______.
lipofuscin, lysosomal digestion
______ are typically short, small processes emerging and branching off the soma.
Dendrites
Usually covered with many ______, dendrites are the principal ______ and ______ on neurons.
synapses, signal reception, processing sites
The large number and extensive ______ of dendrites allow a single neuron to ______ and ______ signals from many other nerve cells.
arborization, receive, integrate
For example, up to ______ axonal endings can make functional contact with the dendrites of a single large ______ of the ______.
200,000, Purkinje cell, cerebellum
Unlike axons, which maintain a nearly constant diameter, dendrites become much ______ as they branch, with ______ elements predominating in these ______ regions.
thinner, cytoskeletal, distal
In the CNS most synapses on dendrites occur on ______, which are dynamic membrane protrusions along the small ______, visualized with ______ and studied by ______ or ______ microscopy.
dendritic spines, dendritic branches, silver staining, confocal, electron
______ serve as the initial processing sites for synaptic signals and occur in vast numbers, estimated to be on the order of ______ for cells of the ______.
Dendritic spines, 1014, human cerebral cortex
Dendritic spine morphology depends on ______ and changes continuously as synaptic connections on neurons are modified.
actin filaments
Changes in dendritic spines are of key importance in the constant changes of the ______ that occurs during embryonic brain development and underlies adaptation, learning, and memory postnatally.
neural plasticity
Most neurons have only one ______, typically longer than its ______.
axon, dendrites
Axonal processes vary in length and diameter according to the type of ______.
neuron
Axons of the ______ neurons that innervate the foot muscles have lengths of nearly a ______; large cell bodies are required to maintain these axons, which contain most of such neurons’ ______.
motormeter, cytoplasm
The plasma membrane of the axon is often called the ______ and its contents are known as ______.
axolemma, axoplasm
Axons originate from a pyramid-shaped region of the perikaryon called the ______, just beyond which the ______ has concentrated ion channels that generate the ______. At this initial segment of the axon, the various ______ and ______ stimuli impinging on the neuron are algebraically summed, resulting in the decision to propagate—or not to propagate—a ______.
axon hillock, axolemma, action potential, excitatory, inhibitory, nerve impulse
Axons generally branch ______ profusely than dendrites, but do undergo ______.
less, terminal arborization
Axons of interneurons and some motor neurons also have major branches called ______ that end at smaller branches with synapses influencing the activity of many other neurons.
collaterals
Each small axonal branch ends with a dilation called a ______ that contacts another neuron or non-nerve cell at a synapse to initiate an impulse in that cell.
terminal bouton
______ contains mitochondria, microtubules, neuro- filaments, and transport vesicles, but very few ______ or ______, features that emphasize the dependence of axoplasm on the ______. If an axon is severed from its cell body, its distal part quickly degenerates and undergoes ______.
Axoplasm, polyribosomes, cisternae of RER, perikaryon, phagocytosis
Lively ______ of molecules large and small occurs within axons
bidirectional transport
Organelles and macromolecules synthesized in the cell body move by ______ along axonal microtubules via ______ from the perikaryon to the synaptic terminals.
anterograde transport, kinesin
______ in the opposite direction along microtubules via ______ carries certain other macromolecules, such as material taken up by endocytosis (including viruses and toxins), from the periphery to the cell body.
Retrograde transport, dynein
______ can be used to study the pathways of neurons: if peroxidase or another marker is injected into regions with ______, its later distribution throughout the neurons serving such regions can be determined histochemically.
Retrograde transport, axon terminals
Anterograde and retrograde transports both occur fairly rapidly, at rates of ______.
50-400 mm/d
A much slower ______, moving only a few millimeters per day, involves movement of the ______ itself. This slow axonal transport corresponds roughly to the rate of ______.
anterograde stream, axonal cytoskeleton, axon growth
A ______, or an ______, travels along an axon like a spark moves along an explosive’s fuse.
nerve impulse, action potential
______
- It is an electrochemical process initiated at the axon hillock when other impulses received at the cell body or dendrites meet a certain threshold.
Nerve Impulse
The action potential is propagated along the axon as a wave of membrane depolarization produced by ______ channels in the ______ that allow diffusion of these ions into and out of the axoplasm.
voltage-gated Na+ and K+, axolemma
The ______ around all regions of the neuron is a very thin zone immediately outside the cell that is formed by enclosing glial cells that also regulate its ionic contents.
extracellular compartment
In unstimulated neurons, ______ Na-K pumps and other membrane proteins maintain an axoplasmic ______ only one-tenth of that outside the cell and a ______ many times greater than the extracellular concentration.
This produces a potential electrical difference across the axolemma of about ______, with the inside ______ to the outside.
This difference is the axon’s ______.
ATP-dependent, Na+ concentration, K+ level
–65 mV, negative
resting potential
When the threshold for triggering an impulse is met, channels at the axon’s initial segment ______ and allow a very rapid influx of extracellular ______ that makes the axoplasm ______ in relation to the extracellular environment and shifts (______) the resting potential from ______ to ______, to ______ mV.
open, Na+, positive, depolarizes, negative, positive, +30
Immediately after the membrane depolarization, the voltage-gated Na+ channels ______ and those for K+ ______, which rapidly returns the membrane to its ______.
close, open, resting potential
Nerve Impulse
This cycle of events occurs in less than ______.
1 millisecond
______ stimulates adjacent portions of the axolemma to depolarize and return immediately to the resting potential, which causes a nerve impulse, or wave of depolarization, to move rapidly along the axon.
Depolarization
After a ______ also measured in milliseconds, the neuron is ready to repeat this process and generate another ______.
refractory period, action potential
Impulses arriving at the synaptic nerve endings promote the discharge of stored ______ that ______ or ______ action potentials in another neuron or a non-neural cell.
neurotransmitter, stimulates, inhibits
______ are sites where nerve impulses are transmitted from one neuron to another, or from neurons and other effector cells.
Synapses
The structure of a synapse ensures that transmission is ______.
unidirectional
Synapses convert an ______ signal (nerve impulse) from the ______ into a ______ signal that affects the ______.
electrical, presynaptic cell, chemical, postsynaptic cell
Most synapses act by releasing ______, which are usually small molecules that bind specific receptor proteins to either open or close ion channels or initiate second- messenger cascades.
neurotransmitters
A synapse has the following components:
presynaptic axon terminal (terminal bouton)
postsynaptic cell membrane
synaptic cleft
A synapse has the following components:
The ______ (______) contains mitochondria and numerous synaptic vesicles from which neurotransmitter is released by exocytosis.
presynaptic axon terminal, terminal bouton
A synapse has the following components:
The ______ contains receptors for the neurotransmitter, and ion channels or other mechanisms to initiate a new impulse.
postsynaptic cell membrane
A synapse has the following components:
A 20- to 30-nm-wide intercellular space called the ______ separates these presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes.
synaptic cleft
At the presynaptic region the nerve impulse briefly opens ______, promoting a ______ influx that triggers ______ release by exocytosis or similar mechanisms.
calcium channels, Ca2+, neurotransmitter
Immediately the released neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the ______ and bind ______ at the ______ region.
synaptic cleft, receptors, postsynaptic
Immediately the released neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind receptors at the postsynaptic region.
This produces either an excitatory or an inhibitory effect at the postsynaptic membrane, as follows:
• Neurotransmitters from ______ cause postsynaptic Na+ channels to open, and the resulting Na+ influx initiates a depolarization wave in the postsynaptic neuron or effector cell as just described.
excitatory synapses