Nervous System Flashcards
Makes up the upper part of the Central Nervous System and acts as the integrating/command centers of the nervous system.
Brain
Makes up the lower part of the Central Nervous System and acts as the integrating/command centers of the nervous system.
Spinal Cord
The 12 pairs of nerves that arise from the brain.
Cranial Nerves
The division of the nervous system that functions involuntarily; innervates cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
A system of nerves that connects the outlying parts of the body with the central nervous system.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The outermost and toughest of the three membranes (meninges) covering the brain and spinal cord.
Dura Mater
The innermost meningeal membrane, it clings tightly to the surface of the brain and the spinal cord, following every fold.
Pia Mater
The middle meningeal layer, it is weblike almost like a cobweb and its threadlike expansions span the subarachnoid space to attach it to the innermost membrane.
Arachnoid Mater
Controls motor speech.
Broca’s Area
The most inferior part of the brain stem. It merges into the spinal cord below without any obvious change in structure. It contains centers that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, swallowing, and vomiting, etc.
Medulla
Part of the hind-brain; involved in producing smoothly coordinated skeletal muscle activity.
Cerebellum
A rounded structure that protrudes just below the midbrain. It contains important nuclei involved with the control of the process of breathing
Pons
A relatively small part of the brain stem. It extends from the mamillary bodies to the pons inferiorly.
Midbrain
The fluid produced by choroid plexi; fills the ventricles and surrounds the central nervous system.
Cerebrospinal Fluid
A mechanism that inhibits passage of materials from the blood into brain tissues.
Blood-Brain Barrier
The region of the diencephalon forming the floor of the third ventricle of the brain.
Hypothalamus
The part of the forebrain between the cerebral hemispheres and the midbrain including the thalamus, the third ventricle, and the hypothalamus.
Diencephalon
A condition in which brain tissue is deprived of a blood supply, as in blockage of a cerebral blood vessel.
Stroke
The portion of the brain consisting of the medulla, pons, and midbrain.
Brainstem
Controls speech, memory, logical and emotional response, consciousness, interpretation of sensation, and voluntary movement.
Cerebral Cortex
The emotional-visceral brain. Controls thirst, appetite, sex, pain, and pleasure.
Limbic System
A man who’s remembered for his improbable survival after his head was impaled with an iron rod, destroying much of his left frontal lobe and losing his left eye. Resulting in him losing much of his previous personality.
Phineas Gage
A chemical transmitter substance released by certain nerve endings.
Acetylcholine
A messenger molecule that allows nerves to communicate with each other and gives off the feelings of pleasure, attention, mood, motivation, and controls some movement.
Dopamine
An inhibitory neurotransmitter, it lessens a nerve cell’s ability to send, receive, or create chemical messages to other nerve cells. It is often sold as a dietary supplement.
GABA
The most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system.
Glutamate
A chemical created in nerve endings that help you stay focused and alert.
Norepinephrine
Sends signals between nerve cells controlling sleep, learning, memory, happiness, regulating body temp, hunger, sexual behavior, bowel movements, and mood helping to decrease depression and anxiety.
Serotonin
The brain and the spinal cord.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
A division of the peripheral nervous system; also called the voluntary nervous system.
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
The non neuronal tissue of the central nervous system that performs supportive and other functions; also called glia.
Neuroglia
A subtype of glial cells that make up the majority of cells in the central nervous system (CNS). They monitor clearing excess neurotransmitters, stabilizing and regulating the blood-brain barrier, and promoting synapse formation.
Astrocytes
Spider like phagocytes that dispose of debris, including dead brain cells and bacteria.
Microglia
A cell that forms the lining of the fluid-filled spaces in the brain and spinal cord. It is a type of glial cell.
Ependymal Cells
The myelinating cells of the central nervous system (CNS) they produce the insulating sheath of axons.
Oligodendrocytes
Form the myelin sheaths around nerve fibers that are found in the PNS.
Schwann Cells
Act as protective, cushioning cells.
Satellite Cells
The branching extensions of neurons that carry electrical signals to the cell body; the receptive portion of a nerve cell.
Dendrites
A cone-like region of the cell body.
Axon Hillock
The branches that come off of the terminal end of an axon. Carry neurotransmitters.
Axon Terminal
A white, fatty lipid substance.
Myelin
Gaps/indentations on the myelin sheaths.
Nodes of Ranvier
The loss of a state of polarity; the loss of a negative charge inside the plasma membrane.
Depolarization
