Glial Cells

Oligodendrocytes

Cells that wrap CNS axons in myelin.

Microglia

The brain’s primary immune cell, equipped with thorny processes.

Astrocytes

Cells that make up and maintain the blood-brain barrier, keeping harmful substances out.

Anterograde

Movement along axon away from cell body.

Nuclei

Cluster of neuron cells in bodies PNS

Ganglia

Cluster of neuron cells bodies in the PNS

Retrograde

Away from the terminal

Ependymal cells

Cells that line the ventricles of the brain and produce cerebrospinal fluid.

Schwann cells

Cells in the PNS that make myelin and wrap around axons.

Satellite cells

Cells that provide structure and metabolic support for neurons in the PNS.

Neuron

A nerve cell that lives an extremely long time, has a nucleus, and does not undergo mitosis.

Action potential

An all-or-nothing event generated when a neuron's cell body reaches threshold stimulus.

White matter

Regions of the brain or spinal cord made of myelinated axons.

Grey matter

Regions containing cell bodies and non-myelinated neurons.

Unipolar neuron

A neuron with one process.

Bipolar neuron

A neuron with two processes.

Multipolar neuron

A neuron with many processes.

Frontal lobe

Part of the brain responsible for executive functioning such as rational thought and impulse control.

Parietal lobe

Part of the brain that processes speech, reading, and language.

Occipital lobe

The region of the brain that processes visual information.

Temporal lobe

The part of the brain that houses memory and processes auditory information.

Insula

A brain region involved in autonomic functions, emotions, and larger in females.

CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy)

A neurodegenerative disease diagnosed post-mortem, associated with repetitive brain trauma.

Saltatory conduction

The process by which electrical impulses jump from node to node along myelinated axons.

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

A disease characterized by the demyelination of neurons, slowing impulse conduction.

Chronic sympathetic activation

A state where the body is persistently under sympathetic nervous system control, leading to various health issues.

Enteric nervous system (ENS)

The part of the nervous system focused on the gut, known as the body’s 'second brain'.