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Neuron
A nerve cell that transfers information within the body.
Electrical signals
Long-distance signals used by neurons to communicate.
Chemical signals
Short-distance signals used by neurons to communicate.
Ganglia
Simple clusters of neurons where processing of information takes place.
Cell body
The part of a neuron that contains most of its organelles.
Dendrites
Highly branched extensions of a neuron that receive signals from other neurons.
Axon
A much longer extension of a neuron that transmits signals to other cells.
Axon hillock
The cone-shaped base of an axon where signals are generated.
Synapse
The junction where branched ends of axons transmit signals to other cells.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that pass information from transmitting neurons to receiving cells.
Glial cells
Supporting cells required by neurons in vertebrates and most invertebrates.
Sensory input
The stage of information processing where sensory neurons transmit information about external stimuli or internal conditions.
Integration
The stage of information processing where interneurons analyze and interpret the sensory input.
Motor output
The stage of information processing where motor neurons transmit signals to glands or muscle cells, causing a response.
Central nervous system (CNS)
The organization of neurons that carry out integration.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
The organization of neurons that carry information into and out of the CNS.
Resting potential
The membrane potential of a neuron not sending signals.
Ion pumps
Proteins that use ATP to maintain ion gradients across the plasma membrane.
Ion channels
Selectively permeable channels in the plasma membrane that allow ions to pass through.
Equilibrium potential
The membrane voltage for a particular ion at equilibrium.
Graded potentials
Changes in polarization where the magnitude of the change varies with the strength of the stimulus.
Threshold
The level of depolarization required to initiate an action potential.
Refractory period
The period after an action potential where a second action potential cannot be initiated.
Action potential
An electrical signal that travels along the axon of a neuron, allowing for communication between neurons.
Depolarization
The process of the membrane potential becoming less negative, leading to the generation of an action potential.
Na+ channels
Sodium channels that allow the flow of sodium ions into the neuron during depolarization.
Synaptic terminals
The ends of the axon where neurotransmitters are released to communicate with other neurons.
Inactivated Na+ channels
Sodium channels that are closed and unable to allow the flow of sodium ions, preventing the action potential from traveling backward.
Nodes of Ranvier
Gaps in the myelin sheath where voltage-gated Na+ channels are found, allowing for the formation of action potentials in myelinated axons.
Myelin sheath
Insulation around axons, produced by glia (oligodendrocytes in the CNS and Schwann cells in the PNS), which enables fast conduction of action potentials.
Saltatory conduction
The process by which action potentials in myelinated axons jump between the nodes of Ranvier, increasing the speed of conduction.
Synapses
The junctions between neurons where communication occurs through the release and reception of neurotransmitters.
Chemical synapses
Synapses where communication occurs through the release of chemical neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitter
A chemical messenger that carries information from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic cell.
Synaptic vesicles
Small sacs in the synaptic terminal that store neurotransmitters.
Ligand-gated ion channels
Ion channels in the postsynaptic cell that open upon binding of a neurotransmitter, generating a postsynaptic potential.
Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs)
Depolarizations that bring the membrane potential of the postsynaptic cell closer to the threshold for generating an action potential.
Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs)
Hyperpolarizations that move the membrane potential of the postsynaptic cell farther from the threshold for generating an action potential.
Summation
The process by which individual postsynaptic potentials combine to produce a larger postsynaptic potential, which can trigger an action potential.
Temporal summation
The summation of EPSPs produced in rapid succession.
Spatial summation
The summation of EPSPs produced nearly simultaneously by different synapses on the same postsynaptic neuron.