Nervous System Flashcards
non-excitable cells that provide structural support or that serve important functions in the nervous system
support cells
glial cells
aka support cells
atom with a positive or negative charge
ion
brain and spinal cord
central nervous system
nervous system that lies outside the brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system
excitable and can communicate with muscle and glands, receive and integrate signals at 1 location and transmit action potential at another, basic functional unit of the nervous system
neurons
cell that receives signal from a neuron or hormone, can be another neuron, muscle or gland
target cell
cell body, receptive portion, transmitting portion
3 neuron characteristics
located centrally, main nutritional and metabolic region, receives signal and sends toward axon
cell body/soma/perikaryon
extend from soma, branching processes, receive signal (afferent), may serve as sensory receptors
dendrites
thin and extend from soma, generates action potential/nerve impulse and conducts (efferent) it to the next cell, varies in length
axons
long distance regenerative electrical signal transmitted along an axon
action potential
junctions between a neuron and its target cell
synapses
each neuron has a signal which arises from the cell body, 1st portion of the axon
axon hillock
a branch of an axon
axon terminal
insulation surrounding axons, formed by support cells that wrap repeatedly around an axon forming a thick layer of cell membrane
myelin sheath
1 type of support cell in the nervous system, found in PNS, form myelin sheath around axons
schwann cells
tiny areas of bare axons between neighboring segments of myelin sheath, in a myelinated axon, charge forms across the membrane only at the nodes so the action potential appears to jump along the axon
nodes of ranvier
selective, passive or active, regionally located, control movement of ions across the neuronal membrane, these tiny structures make neurons excitable
ion channels
proteins that are embedded in the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane
integral proteins
depends on charge of ion, how much water the ion attracts and holds around it
channel selectivity
ion channels that can be opened or closed by gates
active channels
always open, resting membrane potential, located in the cell membrane, cell body, and axon
passive channels
gates are opened or closed by changes in the membrane voltage, located on axon hillock, myelinated and unmyelinated sheaths, and nodes of ranvier, action potential
voltage gated channels
the electrical potential or voltage across a cell membrane that results from the separation of charged particles across the membrane
membrane potential
a chemical released at a synapse, GABA or ACH
neurotransmiter
gates that open or close when a neurotransmitter binds to them, located in dendrites, and cell body, responsible for synaptic response
chemically gated channels
a short distance electrical signal that can vary in amplitude
synaptic potential
sensory functions, integrating functions, motor functions
3 main activities
conduct impulses toward CNS, also called sensory nerves, located in the dorsal horns
afferent nerve fibers
conduct impulses away from CNS, also called motor nerves, located in ventral horns
efferent nerve fibers
nerves may contain both kinds of nerve fibers
PNS mixed nerves
coordination of automatic body functions (ie stimulation of digestive juices in response to ingestion of a meal)
autonomic nervous system
conscious or voluntary control of skeletal muscles
somatic nervous system
specialized molecule to help maintain cell resting state
Na pumped out
K pumped in
Na K pump
difference in electrical charge across a neuron’s membrane, a net negative charge
resting membrane potential
neuron is not being stimulated, Na has been pumped out of cell, K has been pumped in, net negative charge inside the cell
resting state
neuron receives external stimulus, Na channel opens on neuron cell membrane, Na neurons flow into cell by passive diffusion, charge now positive inside cell
depolarization
switching of electrical charge from negative to a positive
action potential
Na channels are closing, K channels are opening, K ions flow out of cell, net charge is returning to negative
beginning of repolarization
sufficient outflow of K ions restored to net negative charge inside the cell
Na and K ions are on opposite sides of cell membrane from where they started
ion distribution is reversed
repolarization
electric charges flip across cell membrane (depolarization) following by unflipping of the electric charges (repolarization)
an area is depolarized, an adjacent area is stimulated, spreading a wave of depolarization
nerve impulse
stimulus is strong enough to cause complete depolarization and to generate a nerve impulse
threshold stimulus
very brief time period when a neuron is insensitive to additional stimuli
refractory period