nervous system Flashcards
nervous system
what is the CNS made up of?
the brain and spinal cord
what is PNS made up of?
nerves that aren’t apart of the central nervous system
what do dendrites do?
they receive information from other cells
what is another name for cell body?
soma
what does the cell body have?
nucleus
what does the axon do?
it sends signals away from the cell body
what does the myelin sheath do?
it electrically insulates the neurons and increases the speed of the nerve impulse
describe the job of the sensory neuron
it detects things and sends signals to the CNS
describe the job of the motor neuron
it receives signals from the CNS and passes the signal to the effectors
what are effectors?
effectors are either muscles or glands
describe the job of the interneuron
they connect the distance between neurons and help pass along signals
what is a synapse?
they are small gaps separating neurons
what are neurotransmitters?
neurotransmitters are chemicals that are released from the synaptic terminal of an axon to travel to the next dendrite
what is a synaptic terminal?
a synaptic terminal is the end of the axon of which the signals are released from
what is the difference between synapses and synaptic terminals?
synapse is the gap of the 2 neurons while the synaptic terminal is where the message is released from
how are information or signals traveled as
electrical impulses
what is the synapses process? how does it work?
the nerve impulses travel down the axon, reaches the synaptic terminal, bunch up into vesicles. then neurotransmitters cross the synapse and bind itself to receptors on the other side to start a new electrical impulse
when does the conversion from electrical to chemical stop?
when it reaches a motor neuron. it then gets passed onto effectors
what is a receptor?
a receptor is the little pockets on the receiving end of the synapse that allow the impulses to travel through and become electrical again.
what is stimulus and response?
stimulus is a change in the environment of the organism. the nervous system will then create a response
what is the nerve cell pathway?
sensory neurons detect information which is then sent along to the CNS for processing. commands are sent to motor neurons in the PNS. A response is then passed to the effectors.
what is a sensory receptor?
humans have specialised sensed organs. this is a receptor. they detect specific types of stimuli.
what is a reflex?
a reflex is the simplest form of response. it often protects your body from danger. it requires no conscious thought
what is a reflex arc?
a reflex arc is when a response occurs before the message reaches the brain or not reach the brain at all
what is the the difference between somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system. what nervous system?
the somatic nervous system controls voluntary movements while the autonomic nervous system controls involuntary movements such as digestion or breathing. it is a part of the PNS
what are the 2 parts of the autonomic nervous system?
the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
what is the sympathetic nervous system?
the sympathetic nervous system is fight or flight. it prepares your body for action
what is the parasympathetic nervous system?
the parasympathetic nervous system is rest and digest. it calms the body down
what are the sacs that carry the neurotranstmitters called?
vesicles
