Neurophysiology Flashcards
what is anatomy
nervous system structure
what is physiology
nervous system function
brain and spinal cords are apart of:
the CNS
peripheral nerves and ganglia are apart of:
PNS
what is the minimal functional “unit” of the nervous system
neuron
neurons do 2 things:
- conduct “electrical” signals - action potentials
- release “chemical” signals - neurotransmitters
what nerves are responsible for the control on movement and some functions?
motor nerves
what nerves are responsible for the detection of external stimuli
sensory nerves
what are responsible for the neuronal activity and connections (circuitry)
association neurons
what are association neurons important for and where are they located?
- within the CNS
- responsible for behavior, thought and emotions
neuron
basic functional unit of the nervous system
dendrites
receive information from sensory receptors and send it to the cell body
axons
deliver electric signals from the cell body to another neuron or an effector organ (muscle)
how do neurons transmit information
- through electrical impulses called “action potentials”
what do neurons do with action potentials
they convert the electrical impulse to a chemical signal called a synapse
what do sensory or afferent neurons do?
they conduct impulses from sensory receptors INTO the CNS
what do association or interneurons do?
they are located entirely within the CNS and help integrate CNS functions
what do motor or efferent neurons do?
they conduct impulses from sensory receptors OUT OF the CNS - to effector organs like muscles or glands
somatic muscle neurons
reflex and voluntary control of skeletal muscles
autonomic motor neurons
Involuntary control of smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands
what are the subclasses of autonomic neurons
- sympathetic
- parasympathetic
what is the simple neural circuit
- the neuron receives a stimulus and the sensory/afferent neurons send the information to the CNS
- interneurons send signals from one neuron to another
- the motor/efferent neurons send commands from the CNS to the muscles or glands to produce a response
what are the 4 types of neurons
- Pseudopolar (unipolar) - sensory, 1 process that splits
- bipolar - retinal and cochlear, 2 processes
- multipolar - most common, motor & association, many dendrites but one axon
- anaxonic, some CNS neurons, no obvious axon
what are the supporting cells in the PNS
- schwann cells - form myelin sheaths around PNS neuron axons
- satellite cells - support neuron cell bodies within ganglia of the PNS