Neurons - L5

Question 1

neurons

Answer 1

the cells that make up the nervous system

a nerve cell responsible for
transmitting, receiving, and processing information

Question 2

function of neurons

Answer 2

carry information/messages in the form of an electrical impulse to the appropriate part of the nervous system

assists the brain in interpreting messages that they have received to enable a motor response

Question 3

messages within neurons

Answer 3

electrical impulse

Question 4

messages between neurons

Answer 4

chemical messages

neurotransmitters

Question 5

dendrites

Answer 5

receive input from other neurons

Question 6

cell body/soma

Answer 6

includes the nucleus which controls the neuron

Question 7

axon

Answer 7

the long strand-like part of a neuron that conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body to the sending end of a neuron

Question 8

myelin sheath

Answer 8

fatty covering that insulates the axon from chemical and physical stimuli that might interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses

Question 9

terminal buttons

Answer 9

send signals from a neuron to adjacent cells (releases neurotransmitters)

Question 10

synapse

Answer 10

the space between neurons where transmission occurs

Question 11

axon terminals

Answer 11

the ends of a neuron that release a message into the synapse

Question 12

sensory/afferent neurons

Answer 12

transmit information from the sensory cells in the body (receptors) to the brain (directly or spinal cord)

role: sense the external world and monitor changes within bodies

Question 13

motor/efferent neurons

Answer 13

carry messages from the CNS to the cells in skeletal muscles, organs and glands to stimulate activity

enable muscles to move

located in the lower brainstem and spinal cord

Question 14

interneurons

Answer 14

connecting or association neurons

act as a link between sensory and motor neurons, relays one information from one neuron to another

enables simple reflexes in the spinal cord as well as complicated brain functions

Question 15

neurotransmitters

Answer 15

1. synaptic vesicles store neurotransmitters within the nerve cell (inside the axon terminals)
2. when an action potential reaches the axon terminals, the synaptic vesicles release neurotransmitters into the synapse
3. these neurotransmitters attach to the receptor sites on the dendrites of the post synaptic neuron

Question 16

lock and key process

Answer 16

The distinct molecular structure of the neurotransmitter being matched by the receptor site means that the receptor site will only respond to specific neurotransmitters and ignore others.