The Nervous System, Part 1 (8)

Question 1

All your other bodily system bow down before…

Answer 1

The nervous system!

Question 2

What are the 3 primary functions of your nervous system?

Answer 2

1. Sensory Input (feels the spider on your knee)
2. Integration (decides whether to scream)
3. Motor Output (tells your body to scream)

Question 3

What are the two main components of your nervous system?

Answer 3

1. Central Nervous System (brain & spine)

2. Peripheral Nervous System (nerves branching off from brain & spine)

Question 4

What are the two main divisions of your Peripheral Nervous System?

Answer 4

1. Sensory (afferent) Division - picks up stimuli & sends to brain
2. Motor (efferent) Division - sends directions from brain to body

Question 5

What are the two main components of the Motor Division?

Answer 5

1. Voluntary (somatic) Nervous System - rules your skeletal muscle movement
2. Involuntary (autonomous) Nervous System - rules your involuntary muscles (heart, lungs, stomach, etc.)

Question 6

What are the two main divisions of your Autonomic Nervous System?

Answer 6

1. Sympathetic Division - gets you wound up for action

2. Parasympathetic Division - helps you calm down

Question 7

What are the two types of cells in your nervous system?

Answer 7

1. Neurons (send & receive signals)

2. Glial cells (surround, protect, & support neurons)

Question 8

True or false? Glial cells make up about half your brain’s mass.

Answer 8

True!

Question 9

What 4 types of glial cells can be found in the Central Nervous System?

Answer 9

1. Astrocytes (most common, help exchange materials between blood and neurons)
2. Microglial cells (immune protection against germs)
3. Ependymal cells (line brain & spinal cavities, create & circulate cerebrospinal fluid to cushion everything)
4. Oligodendrocytes (wrap around neurons & produce protective layer called myelin sheath)

Question 10

What 2 types of glial cells can be found in the Peripheral Nervous System?

Answer 10

1. Satellite cells (surround & support neuron cell bodies)
2. Schwan cells (surround & support neuron cell axons with a myelin sheath)

Question 11

What is the hungriest, longest-lived cell in your body (that is also irreplaceable)?

Answer 11

Neurons!

Question 12

What are the 3 main parts of any neuron?

Answer 12

1. Cell body or SOMA (made like most cells, with nucleus, etc)
2. Dendrites (little bushy branches sticking out all around like antennas…they “listen” for information)
3. Axon (a cable-like branch that sends information away from the cell…can be short, or as long as your leg!)

Question 13

In biology, what is a PROCESS? (hint: it’s a noun, not a verb)

Answer 13

A projecting part of an organic structure, like the dendrites and axons in a neuron.

Question 14

What is a MULTIPOLAR neuron?

Answer 14

A neuron with three or more processes projecting out from the soma. (most common)

Question 15

True or false: 99% of all neurons are multipolar.

Answer 15

True!

Question 16

What is a BIPOLAR neuron?

Answer 16

A neuron with two processes: one dendrite and one axon. (Found in your eye’s retina)

Question 17

What is a UNIPOLAR neuron?

Answer 17

A neuron with only one process. (Found mostly in your skin’s nerves)

Question 18

There are three main families of neurons. They are?

Answer 18

1. Sensory Neurons (feel things, send the signals towards your spine & brain, usually unipolar)
2. Motor Neurons (send commands away from you central nervous system out to your body in response to signals received, usually multipolar)
3. Interneurons (most common, live in central nervous system. Help transmit data between Sensory and Motor Neurons…usually multipolar)