Nervous System Flashcards

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1
Q

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A

most common neurotransmitter; used in brain and transmission to muscles

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2
Q

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)

A

enzyme which dissolves Ach

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3
Q

Action potential

A

upswing or depolarization; when a nerve impulse is sent out from a cell body, the sodium gates in the postsynaptic neuron open and the sodium enters into the cell— causes a switch of charges

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4
Q

Adrenal medulla

A

inner part of the adrenal gland; makes adrenaline and norepinephrine

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5
Q

Adrenaline/epinephrine

A

hormone released from adrenal glands and prepares the body for fight or flight

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6
Q

All or none response

A

action potentials either happen or they don’t; there is no such thing as a “partial firing” of a neuron

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7
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

communicates with internal organs and glands; controls things you’re unaware of (automatic)

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8
Q

Axomembrane

A

surrounds axon

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9
Q

Axon

A

carries impulses away from cell body

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10
Q

Axoplasm

A

plasma in the membrane of an axon

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11
Q

Calcium ion

A

has a positive charge of 2+; maintains positive and negative charge balance inside and outside neuron

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12
Q

Cell body

A

contains nucleus; coordinates cell activities

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13
Q

Central nervous system (CNS)

A

consists of brain and spinal cord; does not repair well, therefore, it has three levels of protection (bone casing, meninges, cerebral spinal fluid); takes in sensory information, process information, and send out motor signals

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14
Q

Cerebellum

A

“little brain” in Latin; responsible for muscle control and allows the body to maintain its sense of balance and coordination as it responds to stimuli

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15
Q

Cerebrum

A

largest part of the brain; central processing area, responsible for voluntary activity + where memory is kept

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16
Q

Corpus callosum

A

myelinated nerve fibres which connect the two brain hemispheres together; allow for communication between both areas

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17
Q

Dendrite

A

carries impulses to cell body (receives message)

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18
Q

Depolarization

A

when sodium gates open and the inside of the neuron becomes positively charged

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19
Q

Effector

A

muscle gland receiving reflex

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20
Q

Excitatory neurotransmitter

A

neurotransmitter that excites the neuron into firing; this passes the impulse to the next cell

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21
Q

Hypothalamus

A

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; centre for homeostasis within the body, sampling and responding to changes in the blood passing through it to maintain a constant internal environment; causes release of hormones through the pituitary glands

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22
Q

Impulse

A

signal (electricity) which travels along nerve fibres and releases neurotransmitters; the means by which information is passed on

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23
Q

Inhibitory neurotransmitter

A

block or prevent the chemical message from being passed on any further

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24
Q

Interneuron

A

central nervous system (brain+spinal cord) neurons which relay messages from sensory neurons to motor neurons

25
Q

Medulla oblongata

A

located in hindbrain; controls involuntary activities (ie. reflex)

26
Q

Meninges

A

membranous layers surrounding the CNS (has three layers)

27
Q

Motor neuron

A

found in motor, sympathetic, and parasympathetic nervous system, therefore, it has no myelin sheath; responsible for output (receives messages from interneuron and takes it to muscles)

28
Q

Myelin sheath

A

fatty substance surrounding parts of the neuron

29
Q

Neuroendocrine control centre

A

hypothalamus and pituitary gland; receive messages from the nervous system and respond by making and releasing hormones

30
Q

Neuron

A

most basic but most highly specialized cell of the nervous system; made up of cell body, dendrites, and axons

31
Q

Neurotransmitters

A

chemicals that allow nervous impulses to move around

32
Q

Node of Ranvier

A

gaps with no myelin sheath along the axon

33
Q

Norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

A

used in sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system; like a cousin of adrenaline (chemically similar)

34
Q

Parasympathetic nervous system

A

calms flight or fight instinct (relaxes body after stress or danger; contains sensory and motor neurons

35
Q

Peripheral nervous system

A

portion of the nervous system which is not central; contains motor and sensory neurons: the link from the receptors to the CNS and from the CNS to the effectors

36
Q

Pituitary gland

A

endocrine glands attached to the hypothalamus; two parts (anterior and posterior), responsible for making, releasing, and storing its own hormones

37
Q

Polarized membrane

A

a membrane which has positive and negative charges on opposite sides: rest potential

38
Q

Postsynaptic membrane

A

dendrite membrane equipped with receptor sites to receive neurotransmitters to complete synaptic transmission

39
Q

Potassium gate

A

proteins in the membrane of neurons that change shape and allow potassium ions out of the neurons during repolarization

40
Q

Presynaptic membrane

A

the membrane on the end of an axon at a synapse; where neurotransmitters are released

41
Q

Contractile (protractile) protein

A

attached to the synaptic vesicle and contracts when bonded with calcium to bring vesicles down to membrane

42
Q

Receptor

A

sites which receive neurotransmitters (located on postsynaptic membrane)

43
Q

Reflex arc

A

simplest complete neural pathway; signal is received at the receptor, then travels to the sensory neuron, interneuron and motor neuron, where it is then passed onto the effector
advantage: immediacy of response

44
Q

Refractory period

A

the period of time which a cell is incapable of repeating an action potential; when charges go back to normal inside and outside the cell

45
Q

Repolarization

A

downswing (potassium gates open) to reduce positive charge

46
Q

Resting potential

A

polarized membrane, charges remain separate and all sodium/potassium gates are closed: hence, has potential to move

47
Q

Saltatory transmission

A

“jumping”, impulses only occur at the exposed portions of the neurons (nodes of Ranvier): impulses jump from node to node and can travel much faster in this manner

48
Q

Schwann cell

A

make up myelin sheath and wrap around cells in the spinal cord; allow regeneration

49
Q

Sensory neuron

A

contained in somatic and parasympathetic nervous systems; conduct impulses from receptors to the CNS

50
Q

Sodium gate

A

opens to let sodium in during upswing (depolarization)

51
Q

Sodium-potassium pump

A

during the refractory period, the pump restores sodium and potassium to their original concentrations

52
Q

Somatic nervous system

A

communicates with sense organs and voluntary muscles (has sensory and motor neurons)

53
Q

Sympathetic nervous system

A

consists of motor neurons that release noradrenaline, which gets the body ready for activity and may activate fight or flight

54
Q

Synapse

A

the space between a neuron and the next cell

55
Q

Synaptic cleft/gap

A

space between neurons where a nerve impulse is transmitted through neurotransmitters

56
Q

Synaptic ending

A

the enlarged ending of an axon at a synaptic gap

57
Q

Synaptic vesicle

A

store and deliver neurotransmitters to the presynaptic membrane to be released into the synaptic gap

58
Q

Thalamus

A

acts as a filter for the higher brain: all impulses traveling to the cerebral cortex pass through the thalamus, which sorts them to the correct association area