Neurons

Created by

Liam

Cards (22)

What are neurons?
Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals
What are the three types of neurons?
Sensory, relay, motor
What is the function of the sensory neuron?
Carries messages from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system
What is the function of relay neurons?
Connect sensory neurons to the motor neurons and other neurons
What is the function of the motor neuron?
Connect the central nervous system to effectors (muscles and glands)
How do neurons provide the nervous system with its primary means of communication?
Transmitting signals electrically and chemically
When does the cell body include?
Nucleus
What does the nucleus contain?
Genetic material
What are dendrites?
Branchlike structures that carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body
What is the axon?
Carries impulses away from the cell body down the length of the neuron
What is the myelin sheath?
A fatty layer that protects the axon and speeds up transmission
What is the myelin sheath segmented by?
Nodes of ranvier
What are nodes of ranvier?
Gaps that speed up transmission by forcing it to jump across the gaps
What are terminal buttons?
Communicates with the next neuron in the chain across the synapse
Where are the cell bodies of motor neurons found?
Central nervous system
Where are the axons of motor neurons?
Peripheral nervous system
Where are the sensory neurons located?
In ganglia outside the central nervous system in the peripheral nervous system
What is a ganglia?
A cluster of sensory neurons
Where are relay neurons located?
The brain and visual system
How does an action potential occur?
When a neuron is activated by the stimulus and the cell becomes positively charged for a split second
What does an action potential create?
An electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron
What charge does a neuron have in a resting state?
Negative