nervous system

• What are the two main components of the central nervous system?

  The brain and spinal cord
• What is the role of the central nervous system?

  It connects the brain to the body and instructs it
• What does the peripheral nervous system connect?

  The central nervous system to various body organs
• What are neurotransmitters?

  Chemicals released from neurons that help pass messages between cells
• Name a neurotransmitter associated with attention and learning.

  Dopamine
• What neurotransmitter is linked to mood and depression?

  Serotonin
• Which neurotransmitter is associated with relaxation?

  GABA
• What is synaptic functioning?

  It involves the way messages are passed throughout the nervous system through synapses
• What are synapses?

  Small gaps between neurons
• How is an electrical impulse triggered in a neuron?

  It is triggered inside the neuron's cell body
• What happens to the electrical impulse after it is triggered in the neuron's cell body?

  It is passed along the axon towards the end of the nerve fiber
• What is contained in the terminal button of a neuron?

  Vesicles filled with neurotransmitters
• What triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse?

  The terminal button is triggered
• What happens to neurotransmitters after they are released into the synapse?

  They are picked up by receptors on the next neuron
• What is the purpose of neurotransmitters in the nervous system?

  To pass the impulse from one neuron to another