Unit 6 Vocab

Question 1

sensory transmitters that send impulses from receptors in the skin, muscle, and joints to the central nervous system

Answer 1

Afferent Nerves

Question 2

branch of the nervous system that controls involuntary body functions

Answer 2

Autonomic Nervous System

Question 3

nerve impulse caused by a wave of depolarization along the length of a neuron

Answer 3

Action Potential

Question 4

involuntary stimuli transmitted to cardiac and smooth muscles

Answer 4

Autonomic Reflexes

Question 5

condition of dementia involving a progressive loss of brain function with major consequences for memory, thinking, and behavior

Answer 5

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Question 6

the brain and spinal cord

Answer 6

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Question 7

a group of nervous system disorders resulting from brain damage before or during birth, or in early infancy

Answer 7

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Question 8

fluid in the subarachnoid space that cushions the brain and spinal cord

Answer 8

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

Question 9

a large, myelinated tract connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain; contains more than 200 million axons

Answer 9

Corpus Callosum

Question 10

motor transmitters that carry impulses from the CNS out to the muscles and glands

Answer 10

Efferent Nerves

Question 11

a group of brain disorders characterized by repeated seizures over time

Answer 11

Epilepsy

Question 12

a mass of nervous tissue composed mostly of nerve cell bodies

Answer 12

Ganglion

Question 13

neurons that form bridges to transmit nerve impulses between afferent and efferent neurons

Answer 13

Interneurons

Question 14

three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord

Answer 14

Meninges

Question 15

an infection-induced inflammation of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord

Answer 15

Meningitis

Question 16

the fatty bands of insulation surrounding axon fibers

Answer 16

Myelin Sheath

Question 17

a chronic, slowly progressive disease of the CNS that destroys the myelin sheath of nerve cell axons

Answer 17

Multiple Sclerosis

Question 18

chemicals that act as messengers between an axon of one neuron and a dendrite on another, or between an axon and a muscle fiber

Answer 18

Neurotransmitters

Question 19

all parts of the nervous system external to the brain and spinal cord

Answer 19

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Question 20

complex interconnections of nerves

Answer 20

Plexus

Question 21

simple, rapid, involuntary, programmed responses to stimuli

Answer 21

Reflexes

Question 22

a pumping mechanism powered by ATP molecules that actively transports potassium and sodium ions into and out of the cell, respectively, against their gradients in order to accomplish repolarization of the cell

Answer 22

Sodium-Potassium Pump

Question 23

branch of the nervous system that stimulates the skeletal muscles

Answer 23

Somatic Nervous System

Question 24

involuntary stimuli transmitted to skeletal muscles from neural arcs in the spinal cord

Answer 24

Somatic Reflexes

Question 25

the intersection between a neuron, a muscle, a gland, or a sensory receptor

Answer 25

Synapse

Question 26

mild or severe trauma that can result from a violent impact to the head

Answer 26

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)