Unit 3 Flashcards
Label each point of the diagram:
A. Dendrite
B. Soma (cell body)
C. Nucleus
D. Axon terminal
E. Myelin Sheath
F. Axon
What is a neuron?
Basic building block of the nervous system
-(Neurons are needed for thoughts, actions, memories, mood)
Each neuron consists of a _______ with branching fibers
cell body
What are dendrite fibers?
Bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses towards the cell body
What is the function of axon fibers?
- Neuron extensions that pass messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands
- (dendrites listen, axons speak)
What is a myelin sheath?
Fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission in speed as neural impulses hop from one sausage-like node to the next
What can happen without a myelin sheath?
Multiple sclerosis, because communication to muscles slows with eventual loss to muscle control
What is action potential?
Brief electrical charge that travels down its axon
What are the different types of neurons?
Sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons
What are sensory neurons?
carry information from the body’s tissues and organs to the central nervous system
-Gets information from around the body (senses)
What are motor neurons?
carry instructions from the central nervous system to the body’s organs and tissues
-Impulses from the brain are sent to muscles or glands.
What are interneurons?
Found in the brain and spinal cord; Link the sensory and motor neurons. They do the additional processing of information needed to make sense of the events occurring within your body and outside the environment
What is the resting potential?
When the internal charge of the cell returns back to -70mv
What is the refractory period?
period of inactivity after a neuron has fired; neuron pumps the positively charged sodium ions back outside. Then it can fire again
What is the threshhold?
Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
What is the synapse?
Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. Tiny gap at the junction is the synaptic gap
-Synaptic gap is where the neurotransmitters are passed over
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between the neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
Reuptake definition:
Sending neuron reabsorbs the excess neurotransmitters
What are endorphins?
Natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
-Ex: Exercize releases endorphins
What is an agonist vs antagonist?
Agonist: Molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response
-Ex: Drugs and other chemicals affect brain chemistry by exciting or causing neurons to fire.
Antagonist: Molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response
–Ex: The poison Botulin causes paralysis by blocking the release of ACh
What is the nervous system?
Body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
What is the central nervous system (CNS)?
The brain and spinal cord form the central nervous system (CNS), which is the body’s decision maker
What is the peripheral nervous (PNS)?
Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body (gathers information and transmits CNS decisions to other body parts)
What are nerves?
Bundles axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Information travels through the central nervous system through which three types of neurons?
Sensory, motor, interneurons
What are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system and what are their functions?
Somatic and autonomic
Somatic nervous system: Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system.
Ex: If the bell rings to signal the end of class, the somatic nervous system reports to the brain the current state of your skeletal muscles and carries instructions back, triggering your body to rise from your seat
Autonomic nervous system: The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (ex; heart). Its sympathetic division arouses, its parasympathetic division calms.
Autonomic nervous system influences functions like heartbeat, digestion, etc
What is a reflex?
Simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response
What is the endocrine system?
The body’s slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
What are hormones?
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues
What are the adrenal glands?
Pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress
What is the pituitary gland?
a pea-sized structure located in the core of the brain, where it is controlled by an adjacent brain area
What are the 4 different neurotransmitters?
- Acetylcholine (ACH)
- Dopamine
- Serotonin
- Endorphins
What is Acetylcholine (ACH)?
- Deals with motor movement and memory
- Too much of it can lead to hyperactive behaviors
- Too little and it will lead to sluggish feelings
What is Dopamine?
- Deals with motor movement and alertness
- Lack of dopamine has been linked to Parkinson’s disease (when you shake uncontrollably)
- Too much of it has been linked to schizophrenia (too much dopamine)
- Inability to focus, or ability to filter out information
- Disorganized thoughts, speech patterns