Neurons Flashcards
What is a neuron?
A nerve cell which receives and tramsits information in the form of electrical impulses.
What is the soma or cell body of a neuron?
Where the nucleus and mitochondria are. It controls the growth and repair of the cell.
What are dendrites?
Branches off the end of a neuron that have receptors which receive information from other neurons.
What is an axon?
The long part of the neuron where the electrical impulse travels through.
What are axon terminals?
They are at the end of thr neuron and transfer an impulse to the next neuron across the synapse at the synaptic button.
What is the myelin sheath?
A fatty tissue made up from Schwann cells that protect and insulate the axon.
What are the types of neurons?
Sensory/Afferent, Motor/Efferent and Interneurons
What are sensory/afferent neurons?
Neurons that carry information from the sense receptors to the spinal cord.
How do you remember which way sensory/afferent neurons go?
A means they Arrive at the brain/spinal cord
What are motor/efferent neurons?
Neurons that carry messages away from the spinal cord to thr muscles and glands in the body.
How do you remember in which direction motor/efferent neurons travel?
E means they Exit the brain/spinal cord
What are interneurons?
They connect motor and sensory neurons.
They make up the brain and the spinal cord.
What is the gap between neurons called?
A synaptic gap
What is synaptic transmission?
When an electrical impulse reaches the end of an axon the terminal buttons release chemicals called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters travel to the receptors on the dendrites of the receiving neuron.
What are glial cells?
Cells within the neurons that provide insulation, nutrients, support, repair neurons and dispose of waste.
