Nervous System

Question 1

What are the three separate systems that the nervous system can be broken down into?

Answer 1

the central nervous system

the peripheral nervous system

the autonomic nervous system

Question 2

What do motor neurons process?

Answer 2

movement

Question 3

What do sensory neurons process?

Answer 3

sensory information

Question 4

What are neurons made up of?

Answer 4

nucleus

axon

axon terminals

dendrites

Question 5

What is an axon?

Answer 5

a long fibre that can transmit electrical signals away from the nucleus

Question 6

What are dendrites?

Answer 6

small extensions which connect to the nucleus

Question 7

What do axon terminals form at the end of each neuron?

Answer 7

junctions

Question 8

What are the junctions separated by?

Answer 8

a tiny gap called a synapse

Question 9

What do electrical signals that travel to the axon terminals stimulate?

Answer 9

the release of neurotransmitters

Question 10

Where are neurotransmitters stored?

Answer 10

in membranes called synaptic vessicles

Question 10

What structures allow signals to travel between neurons?

Answer 10

synapses, neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors

Question 10

What are neurotransmitters?

Answer 10

special chemicals that travel across the synapse gap and bind to other special chemicals on the receiving neuron called neuroreceptors

Question 11

What is the central nervous system made up of?

Answer 11

the brain and spinal cord

Question 11

What is the central nervous system protected by?

Answer 11

the skull, the vertebrae and protective membranes called meninges

Question 11

What is the function of glia?

Answer 11

surround and protect neurons, and ensure they are supplied with efficient nutrients

Question 11

What does the peripheral nervous system do?

Answer 11

connects the central nervous system to all parts of the body

Question 12

What is the peripheral nervous system made up of?

Answer 12

a network of nerves which are themselves made up of glia and neurons

Question 13

What do the network of nerves in the peripheral nervous system do?

Answer 13

carry signals to and from the central nervous system

Question 14

Why is the peripheral nervous system more easily damaged?

Answer 14

is it not protected by bone

Question 15

What do sensory neurons do as part of the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 15

part of the afferent system in the peripheral nervous system

carry information from the sense organs towards the central nervous system

Question 16

What do motor neurons do as part of the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 16

part of the efferent system in the peripheral nervous system

carry information from the central nervous system towards muscles

Question 17

What system are muscles or effectors controlled by?

Answer 17

the efferent system

Question 18

What part of the peripheral nervous system is dedicated to voluntary control?

Answer 18

the somatic nervous system

Question 19

Are there afferent and efferent pathways in the somatic nervous system?

Answer 19

one of each

Question 20

What is the other part of the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 20

the autonomic nervous system

Question 21

What is the autonomic nervous system responsible for?

Answer 21

involuntary bodily functions

Question 22

How many afferent and efferent pathways are there in the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 22

one afferent pathway

two efferent pathways

Question 23

What are the two efferent pathways in the autonomic nervous system called?

Answer 23

the sympathetic nervous system

the parasympathetic nervous system

Question 24

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 24

acts to prepare the body for imminent exertion and is a response to stressful situations

Question 25

How does the sympathetic nervous system prepare the body for imminent exertion?

Answer 25

by increasing the heart rate, increasing breathing rate and directing blood towards skeletal muscle tissue and away from smooth muscle used for digestion

Question 26

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 26

acts in the opposite way to the sympathetic nervous system

whatever effect the sympathetic nervous system has on bodily function, the parasympathetic nervous system negates it

Question 27

What does the parasympathetic nervous system act to achieve?

Answer 27

conserve energy

allow digestion processes to proceed

Question 28

What is an example of the two nervous systems working in opposition?

Answer 28

a deer grazing in a forest in North America when it catches the scent of a grizzly bear

the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for intense physical exertion by dilating the pupils, increasing breathing rate, increasing the heart rate, converting stored glycogen into glucose in the liver, producing adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands, slowing down digestion, directing blood away from the digestion organs

the deer runs away

deer are quicker than beers so the deer eventually loses the scent of the bear

the parasympathetic nervous system then takes over by returning the pupils to their normal size, slowing down breathing and heart rate, reverses the process of converting glycogen into glucose, stops producing adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands and diverts blood back to all areas of the body, digestion resuming.