William

Question 1

Neurons

Answer 1

specialized cells that make up the nervous system

Question 2

Neurons have three parts (list them and explain):

Answer 2

Cell body: nucleus, most organelles and cytoplasms
Dendrites: extensions of the cell membrane that receive messages from other neurons
Axons: an extension of the cell membrane that transmits messages away from the cell body to other neurons

Question 3

Neurons rely on _____ and _____ for communication

Answer 3

action potentials and neurotransmitters

Question 4

Excitatory pyramdial cells

Answer 4

these cells use glutamate and other excitatory neurotransmitters to communicate with other neurons, triggering action potentials in their targets

Question 5

Inhibitory interneurons

Answer 5

these cells use GABA and other inhibitory neurotransmitters to communicate with other neurons, suppressing action potentials in their target cells

Question 6

Motor neurons

Answer 6

located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord, these neurons synapse with muscle cells, causing them to contract

Question 7

sensory neurons

Answer 7

located in ganglia throughout the peripheral nervous system, these neurons fire action potentials in response to sensory stimuli and transmit this information to the brain and spinal cord

Question 8

Astrocytes

Answer 8

supporting cells in the brain; important for recycling neurotransmitters and controlling the interstitial environment

Question 9

Microglia

Answer 9

important for responding to injury and infection in the central nervous system

Question 10

Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes (where do they produce myelin?)

Answer 10

produce myelin in the peripheral and central nervous system, respectively

Question 11

Central Nervous System consists of ?

Answer 11

the brain and spinal cord

Question 12

brainstem

Answer 12

medulla, pons, and midbrain, regulates basic body functions like heart rate, respiration, etc

Question 13

cerebellum

Answer 13

coordination of movement and balance

Question 14

diencephalon consists of?

Answer 14

thalamus and hypothalamus

Question 15

thalamus

Answer 15

a relay station for directing incoming sensory information to the appropriate brain region

Question 16

Hypothalamus

Answer 16

regulates the endocrine system and motivated behaviors like eating, drinking and mating

Question 17

Cerebrum

Answer 17

critical for processing and perceiving sensory information, initiating movements and for cognitive processes like attention, learning and memory, and decision making

Question 18

frontal lobe

Answer 18

speech, movement, decision making

Question 19

parietal lobe

Answer 19

touch sensation, attention

Question 20

occipital lobe

Answer 20

basic visual processing

Question 21

temporal lobe

Answer 21

language comprehension, memory, hearing

Question 22

spinal cord relays sensory and motor signals between the

Answer 22

brain and the rest of the body

Question 23

central gray matter is composed of what

Answer 23

cell bodies

Question 24

white matter is composed of what

Answer 24

axons

Question 25

Dorsal horn

Answer 25

contains neurons that receive sensory info from the periphery and transmit it to the brain

Question 26

ventral horn

Answer 26

contains motor neurons that project axons to skeletal muscle in the periphery, causing them to contract

Question 27

peripheral nervous system

Answer 27

everything else, including the nerve fibers (axons) emanating from the spinal cord and sensory neurons in ganglia located throughout the body

Question 28

peripheral nervous system consists of what two systems:

Answer 28

somatic system and autonomic system

Question 29

Somatic system

Answer 29

conveys sensory information about the external environment to the brain (sensory division) and signals to skeletal muscles causing voluntary contraction (motor division)