The Motor Unit key words

Question 1

Nerve Impulses

Answer 1

A signal transmitted along a nerve fibre. It consists of a wave of electrical depolarization that reverses the potential difference across the nerve cell membranes.

Question 2

Acetylcholine

Answer 2

A neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular junction. It is the chemical that motor neurons of the nervous system release in order to activate muscles

Question 3

Motor endplate

Answer 3

The large and complex terminal formation by which the axon of a motor neuron establishes synaptic contact with a striated muscle fibre.

Question 4

Synaptic Cleft

Answer 4

At a chemical synapse, one neuron releases neurotransmitter molecules into a small space (the synaptic cleft) that is adjacent to another neuron.