| A | B |
|---|
| What does the nervous system do? | recognizes a stimuli in the environment; interpret stimuli; responds to stimuli |
| dendrites | neuron; branches off the cell body that receive information |
| axon | neuron; branches off the cell body that receive information and conducts impulses |
| myelin | the protective coating around nerves |
| synapse | the gap between the terminal branches of one neuron and and the dendrites of the next neuron |
| neurotransmitter | a chemical released into the synapse by the terminal branches of neurons. It stimulates impulse in the next neuron.This molecule binds to the receptor proteins on the postsynaptic cell. |
| CNS | Central Nervous System |
| Central Nervous System contains | the brain and the spinal cord |
| PNS | Peripheral Nervous System |
| Peripheral Nervous System contains | sensory nerves and motor nerves |
| sensory neurons | a neuron that carries impulses from the receptor to the interneuron |
| motor neurons | a nerve cell that carries impulses from the interneuron to the effector (a muscle or gland) |
| cerebrum | largest portion of your brain; controls memory and thinking |
| cerebellum | located at teh posterior base of the brain; regulates balance, posture, and coordinates movement |
| brain stem | also known as the medulla; the bottom portion of the brain; acts as a pathway for information beign transmitted between the brain and the spinal cord. |
| reflex | an inborn automatic involuntary response to stimulus. it does not involve the brain |
| reflex arc | the automatic pathway that nerve impulses travel in response to a reflex stimulus |
| meningitis | an infection that causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord |
| bacterial meningitis | bacterial infections that start in other parts of the body and spread to the brain or spinal cord via the bloodstream. can be treated with antibiotics |
| viral meningitis | more common; hardly ever life threatening; many causes including poor hygiene and sewage; cannot be treated with antibiotics |
| multiple sclerosis (MS) | the immune system attacks teh protective coating around nerves called myelin; once myelin is dmanaged the signals from nerves can't travel efficiently |
