Studied by 4 people
Dendrites
Receive messages from other cells
Soma (Cell Body)
Maintains the health of the neuron
Nucleus
Helps soma do its job
Axon
Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
Myelin Sheath
Covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
Multiple Sclerosis
Degeneration of myelin sheath, slowing down or interruption of communication to muscles and loss of muscle control
Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
Loss of coordination, speech interruption, insensitivity, muscular weakness
Nodes of Ranvier
Gaps between myelin sheath on axons
Glial Cells
Nerve cells that support neurons by offering structure, nutrition, and getting rid of waste
Neuron
Basic building block of nervous system and communication
Neural Impulse/Action Potential
Electrical signal traveling down the axon
Depolarization
Changes that occurs in the cells
Refractory Period
The time period where cells regroup
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of ascending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of a receiving or sending neuron
Neurotransmitters
Your body's chemical messengers
Acetylcholine (ACh) Role
Learning, Memory, Muscle Contractions
Acetylcholine (ACh) Disorder
Alzheimer's Disease- Low levels
Dopamine Primary Role
Movement, Thought Processes, Rewarding Sensations
Dopamine Disorder (Low Levels)
Parkinson’s Disease
Dopamine Disorder (Excess Levels)
Schizophrenia
Dopamine (Using a substance causes less production in dopamine)
Drug Addiction
Serotonin Role
Emotional States, Moods, Sleep, Hunger
Norepinephrine Role
Physical Arousal, Learning, Memory
Serotonin and Norepinephrine Disorder
Depression (Low Levels)
GABA Role
Inhibition of Brain Activity, Sends or Receives Nerve Cells
GABA Disorder
Anxiety (Slow process of (Neurotransmitter) getting to brain)
Endorphins Role
Pain Perception, Positive-Emotions
Endorphins Disorder
Opiate Addiction (Overuse of Opoids)
Glutamate Role
Excitatory Neurotransmitters memory
Glutamate Disorder
Migraines, Tremors, and Seizures (Excess levels)
Venom getting in the way of Acetylcholine
Causes paralysis
Terminal Branches
form junctions with other cells
Excitatory Signals
Signal Neural Impulses
Inhibitory Signals
Stop information from being passed on
Stimulus Threshold
The minimum level of stimulation needed to activate the next neuron
Neurons fire every time at
100%
Stronger responses occur due to
More neurons firing
Agonists
Drug molecules that are similar to neurotransmitters and mimic their effects
Example of Agonist
Opioid Drugs
Antagonist
Drug molecules that act like a neurotransmitter to occupy its receptor sights and block its effect, but not similar enough to stimulate the receptor
Example of Antagonist
Poison and Venom
Blood Brain Barrier
Enables the brain to fence out unwanted chemicals circulating in the blood
3 types of Neurons that information travel through
Sensory, Motor, Interneuron
Sensory Neuron
Carry information from sense receptors to the central nervous system
Interneuron
Neurons that internally communicate and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs
Motor Neurons
Neurons that carry out information from the Central Nervous System to the muscles, glands, and other organs
Central Nervous System Organs
Made up of the brain and spinal cord
The Central Nervous System controls
Reflexes and Neural Networks
Reflexes
Simple automatic inborn responses to a sensory stimulus
Peripheral Nervous System controls
Sensory and motor neurons
2 parts of the Peripheral Nervous System
Skeletal/Somatic System, Autonomic Nervous System
Skeletal/Somatic System control
Skeletal Muscles (Voluntary Movement)
Autonomic System controls
Glands and muscles of the internal system (Involuntary Movement)
2 Systems of the Autonomic System
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems
Sympathetic Nervous System controls
Arouses the body to help deal with a stressor (Fight or Flight Response)
Examples of Sympathetic Nervous System
Breathing is harder, pupils dilate, pulse goes up
Parasympathetic Nervous System helps with
Calming the body down to conserve energy (Relaxing)
Examples of Parasympathetic Nervous System
Pupils undilate, breathing goes down, pulse goes down
Brain Lesion
Destroy tissue in a specific area of the brain
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Records waves created by the brain
Computed Tomograph Scan (CAT Scan/CT Scan)
A series of X-Ray photographs taken by computer and combined together to make an image
Positron Emission Tomograph (PET SCAN)
A test to show if there are any diseases in the brain using radioactive glucose
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images
Left Hemisphere Traits
More verbal, more logical, able to deal with things in a sequence
Right Hemisphere Characteristics
More creative, gather information by thinking and intuition, emotionally expressive, artistic
Cerebral Cortex
Divides the 2 Brain Hemispheres
4 Brain Lobes
Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal
Frontal Lobe
Speaking, memory, last part of the brain to develop
Motor Cortex
Controls all voluntary movement
Occipital Lobe
Visual Processing
Temporal Lobe
Interprets what we hear
Association Areas
Areas that involve the 4 lobes
Plasticity
The ability of the brain to take over functions that it wouldn’t necessarily perforM
3 areas of Language
Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, Angular Gyrus
Broca’s Area Location
Frontal Lobe
Broca’s Area controls
Muscle movements in speech
Wernicke’s Area Location
Left Temporal Lobe
Wernicke’s Area Controls
Language Comprehension
Angular Gyrus Location
Parietal Lobe
Angular Gyrus controls
Reading allowed, codes visual information into auditory form
Endocrine System
A slow chemical change system that is made up of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Hypothalamus
Brain structure that controls the pituitary gland
Pituitary Gland Role
Controls other glands, produces prolactin, and produces oxytocin
Pineal Gland
Produced melatonin
Thyroid Gland
Metabolism Rate
Parathyroids
Regulate the level of calcium in blood
Adrenal Glands
Produces epinephrine and norepinephrine
Pancreas
Regulates blood sugar and insulin
Ovaries
Secretes estrogen and progesterone
Testes
Secretes testosterone
Reticular Activation System
Wakes us up, makes us go to sleep
Cerebellum
Balance and movement
Pons
Fine tune motor coordination
Corpus Callosum
Bridges the right and left henispheres
Thalamus
Relay station between the senses and brain
Medulla
Controls heartbeat
Amygdala
Fear and Rage center
