The brain and nervous system structures Flashcards
The Central Nervous system
The brain and spinal cord, which relays messages from the brain to the rest of the body to instruct it what to do
The Peripheral Nervous system
The system of nerves that connect the central nervous system (mainly the spinal cord) to the skin, muscles and organs in your body
Neuron
A nerve cell that transmits information
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals found within the nervous system that pass messages from one neuron to another across a synapse. there are lots of different types of neurotransmitters that have different jobs inside the nervous system
Axon
The long structure that connects the cell body of a neuron to the terminal button at the end of a cell
Vesicles
Small sacs containing neurotransmitter molecules
Receptors
Special sites on neurons that are designed to absorb neurotransmitter molecules
Terminal button
The end of a neuron
Synapse
A gap between two neurons that allow messages. in the form of neurotransmitters, to pass from one cell to another
Dopamine
Plays a role in attention and learning
Serotonin
Plays a role in mood
GABA
Plays a role in calming us down
Synaptic transmission
The process by which neurotransmitters are released by a neuron, move across a synaptic gap and are then taken up by another neuron
Synaptic function
An electrical impulse is triggered inside the cell body of the neuron. The neuron then passes a small impulse along the axon towards the end of the nerve fibre. When the nerve impulse reaches the terminal button, the vesicle releases the neurotransmitter molecules into the synapse. These molecules are then grabbed by the receptors on the next neuron to pass the message impulse on
