Nervous System Flashcards
Peripheral nervous system
Neural tissue outside the CNS (nerves)
Delivers sensory information to the CNS
Carly’s motor commands to peripheral tissues
Central nervous system
Brain and spinal cord
Responsible for integrating, processing, coordinating
Afferent division
Sensory information to the CNS from receptors in the PNS
Efferent Division
Motor commands from the CNS to PNS
2-sub divisions:
Somatic: voluntary control of the body
Autonomic: automatic, involuntary
Soma
Cell body
Directs neuron activities
Dendrites
Sensitive processes
Extends from soma
Receive neural impulses
Axon
Starts from bottom of soma to axon terminal
Long cytoplasmic process
Transmit neural impulses away from cell body
Synaptic terminal
Presynaptic cell
Sends a message to another neuron
Myelin sheath
Protects and insulates axon, aids movement of impulses
Sensory neurons
Afferent division
Deliver information from sensory receptors to the CNS
Motor neuron
Efferent division
Carry instructions from CNS to peripheral effectors
Synapse
Site of intercellular communication
2 cells: presynaptic cell (sends message), post synaptic cell (receives message)
Neuroeffector junction
Synapse between a neuron and another cell type
Neuromuscular junction: neuron and muscle
Neurotransmitters
Facilitate neural communication
Chemical released by synaptic terminal
Neural chains
Several neurons linked together to transmit messages over long distances
Proprioception
Awareness of the position of bones, joints, muscles
Reflexes
Rapid, automatic response to stimuli
Neural reflexes
Involves sensory and motor neurons
Pathway that bypasses the brain to produce a quick response
Reflex arc
Stimulus activates a sensory neuron, sends message to spinal cord (interneuron) which sends message to motor neuron to respond to stimuli
Functions
Sensory nerves gather information and send it to the CNS
This is then processed and interpreted
Motor nerves convey information from the CNS to the muscles and glands
Anatomical divisions
Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
Functional divisions
Afferent division
Efferent division
Types of neurons
Sensory
Motor
Interneurons
