Neuroscience: The Biological Perspective

• Nervous System


  An extensive network of specialized cells that carry information to and from all parts of the body.
• Neuroscience


  Deals with the structure and functions of neurons, nerves, and nervous tissue.
• Central Nervous System (CNS)


  Made up of the brain and spinal cord.
• Peripheral Nervous System


  Transmits information to and from the CNS.
• Brain


  Interprets and stores information and sends orders to muscles, glands, and organs.
• Spinal Cord


  Pathway connecting the brain and the peripheral nervous system.
• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)


  Automatically regulates glands, internal organs, and blood vessels, pupil dilation, digestion, and blood pressure.
• Somatic Nervous System (SNS)


  Carries sensory information, and controls movement of the skeletal muscles.
• Parasympathetic Division


  Maintains body functions under ordinary conditions; saves energy.
• Sympathetic Division


  Prepares the body to react and expend energy in times of stress.
• Neurons


  The basic cell that makes up the nervous system and which receives and sends messages within that system
• Dendrites


  Branch-like structures that receive messages from other neurons.
• Soma


  The cell body of the neuron, responsible for maintaining the life of the cell
• Axon


  Long tube-like structure that carries the neural message to other cells.
• Glial Cells


  Grey fatty cells that, provide support for the neurons to grow on and around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, clean up waste product and dead neurons
• Myelin

  Fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coat the axons of neurons to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse.
• Nerves


  Bundles of axons in the body that travel together through the body.
• Neurilemma


  Schwann’s Membrane, tunnel through which damaged nerve fibers can repair themselves.
• Ions


  Charged Particles.
• Inside Neuron


  Negatively Charged.
• Outside Neuron


  Positively Charged.
• Resting Potential


  The state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse.
• Action Potential


  The release of the neural impulse consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon. Allows positive sodium ions to enter the cell.

   
• All-or-None


  A neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all.
• Axon terminals


  Branches at the end of the axon.
• Synaptic Knob


  Rounded areas on the end of axon terminals.
• Synaptic Vesicles


  Sack-like structures found inside the synaptic knob containing chemicals.
• Neurotransmitters


  Chemical found in the synaptic vesicles which, when released, has an effect on the next cell.
• Synapse/Synaptic Gap


  Microscopic fluid-filled space between the rounded areas on the end of the axon terminals of one cell and the dendrites or surface of the next cell.
• Receptor Sites


  Holes in the surface of the dendrites or certain cells of the muscles and glands, which are shaped to fit only certain neurotransmitters.
• Excitatory Neurotransmitter


  Neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cells to fire.
• Inhibitory Neurotransmitter


  Neurotransmitter that causes the receiving cell to stop firing.
• Agonists


  Mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next cell, increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell.
• Antagonists


  Block or reduce a cell’s response to the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters.
• Acetylcholine


  Neurotransmitter involved in memory and stimulates movement.
• Serotonin


  Neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, and appetite
• GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)


  Neurotransmitter involved in sleep and inhibits movement.
• Glutamate


  Neurotransmitter involved in memory formation.
• Norepinephrine


  Neurotransmitter involved in arousal and mood.
• Dopamine


  Neurotransmitter involved in control of movement and sensations of pleasure.