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56 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Neuron
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a nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system.
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Dendrite
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The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
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Axon
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The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal
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Myelin Sheath
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a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
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Action Potential
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a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane.
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Threshold
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The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
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Synapse
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the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
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Neurotransmitters
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Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neurons, eurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
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ACh (Acetylcholine)
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Enables muscle action, learning and memory. Not enough marks Alzheimer's disease.
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Dopamine
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Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Excessive marks schizophrenia, lack produces Parkinson's disease.
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Serotonin
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Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Lack linked to depression
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Norepinephrine
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Controls alertness and arousal also linked to depression
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GABA
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Major inhibitory neurotransmitter, undersupply linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia.
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Glutamate
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Excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Oversupply produces migraines or seizures.
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Endorphins
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Neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.
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Nervous System
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The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
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CNS (Central Nervous System)
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brain and spinal cord
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PNS (Peripheral Nervous System)
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Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.
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Nerves
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Neural 'cables' containing many axons. Connect the CNS with muscles, glands and sense organs.
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Sensory Neurons
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Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the CNS
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Interneurons
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CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
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Motor Neurons
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Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.
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Somatic Nervous System
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The division of the PNS that controls the skeletal muscles
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Autonomic Nervous System
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Part of the PNS that controls glands and muscles of the internal organs.
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Sympathetic Nervous System
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The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
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Parasympathetic Nervous System
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The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving energy.
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Reflex
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A simple, automatic, inborn response to sensory stimulus.
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Neural Networks
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Interconnected neural cells. They learn.
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Lesion
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Tissue destruction
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Brainstem
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the oldest and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; is responsible for automatic survival functions.
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Medulla
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the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.
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Reticular formation
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a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
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Thalamus
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The brain's sensory switchboard, located ontop of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory srecieving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
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Cerebellum
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Little brain at the rear of the the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balence.
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Limbic System
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System of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemisphere; associated with base emotions
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Amygdala
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Member of limbic system and linked to emotion
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Hypothalamus
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A neural structure lying below the thalamus that directs maintenance activities and helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion.
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Cerebral Cortex
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The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.
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Glial Cells
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Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons
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Frontal lobes
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The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just below the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movement and in making plans and judgements.
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Parietal Lobes
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The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head towards the rear. Includes sensory cortex
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Occipital Lobes
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The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; including the visual areas, which receive visual information from opposite visual fields.
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Temporal Lobes
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The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory information primarily from the opposite ear.
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Motor Cortex
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An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
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Sensory Cortex
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The area at the front of the parietal that registers and processes body sensations.
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Association Areas
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Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking and speaking.
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Aphasia
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Impairment of language usually caused by damage to either Broca's area (impaired speaking) or Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).
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Broca's Area
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Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
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Wernicke's Area
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Controls language receptions - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
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Plasticity
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The brain's capacity for modification
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Corpus Callosum
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The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
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Split Brain
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A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them.
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Endocrine System
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The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
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Hormones
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Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands that are produced in one tissue and affect another.
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Adrenal Gland
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A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenal secrete the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (nonadrenaline) which helps arouse the body during times of stress
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Pituitary gland
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The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and conttrols other endocrine system
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