Neuron Anatomy and Neural Communication

Vocabulary flashcards covering the components of a neuron, the transmission of neural impulses, synaptic activity, and key neurobiological principles based on lecture notes.

Antagonist

Anything that decreases the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Agonist

Anything that increases the effect of a neurotransmitter.

Synaptogenesis

The formation of synapses, characterized by the principles 'neurons that fire together, wire together' and 'use it or lose it'.

Glia

Support cells for the nervous system.

Synapse

A junction that allows a neuron to communicate with another cell.

All-or-none principle

A neuron either responds completely at full strength or does not respond at all.

Neurogenesis

The process by which new neurons are generated, which is greatest when young.

Receptors

Structures that receive and bind chemical messengers or neurotransmitters.

Vesicle

A cellular structure that stores and releases neurotransmitters.

Terminal button

Bulbs located at the end of axon branches.

Hyperpolarization

A change in a cell's potential that makes the inside of the cell more negative relative to its resting state.

Threshold

The minimum level of a stimulus required to trigger a response.

Dendrites

Neuronal structures that receive messages from other cells.

Soma

The cell body of a neuron, which maintains its health.

Axon

The part of the neuron that passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons.

Myelin sheath

A covering over the axon that helps speed up neural impulses.

Terminal branches

Branches of the axon that form junctions with other cells.

Neural impulse

An electrical signal traveling down the axon; also known as an action potential.

Sensory neurons

Neurons that convert external and internal stimuli into electrical impulses and transmit them to the CNS.

Integration

The process of interpreting and processing input to decide what should be done about it.

Motor neurons

Neurons involved in the response that occurs when the nervous system activates certain parts of the body.

Interneuron

A neuron through which impulses move between sensory and motor neurons.

Action potential

A change in electrical voltage across a cell that allows neurons to send electrical signals.

Refractory period

The instant when a new action potential cannot be generated because the neuron is recharging.

Resting potential

The state of a neuron when it is charged but waiting for the next action potential to be generated.

Depolarization

A change in a cell's electrical state that makes the inside of the cell less negative or more positive compared to the outside.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that carry a message from a sending neuron across a synapse to receptor sites on a receiving neuron.