Module 3 - Brains Building Blocks

Question 0

Branchlike extensions that receive signals from senses and the environment are called ________.

Answer 0

Dentrites

Question 1

What is the structure that nourishes and maintains the entire neuron?

Answer 1

The cell body or soma

Question 2

A single threadlike extension that speeds signals away from the body and toward a neighbouring cell is the what?

Answer 2

Axon

Question 3

A tubelike structure that insulates the axon from interference by neighbouring signals is the ______ ______.

Answer 3

Myelin sheath

Question 4

Tiny swellings at the very end of the axon are called _______, which store neurotransmitters.

Answer 4

End bulbs

Question 6

Chemicals that have electrical charges are called _____.

Answer 6

Ions

Question 7

Ions obey the rule that opposite charges attract and like charges repel. Fluid in the axon contains many ions, but we focused on two, a positively charged _______ ion (Na+) and a negatively charged ______ ion.

Answer 7

Sodium

Protein

Question 8

If an axon membrane has a potential similar to a charged battery, the axon is in the _______.

Answer 8

Resting state

Question 9

During the resting state, ions outside of the axon membrane are positively charged ______ ions. The ions inside the membrane are negatively charged _______ ions.

Answer 9

Sodium

Protein

Question 10

If an axon membrane is in a state similar to a discharging battery, the axon is generating an _______.

Answer 10

Action potential

Question 11

During an action potential, the chemical gates open and positively charged _______ ______ rush inside, changing the inside of the membrane to a positive charge, while the outside has a negative charge.

Answer 11

Sodium ions

Question 12

As the action potential moves down the axon, it is called an _______.

Answer 12

Impulse (or nerve impulse)

Question 13

Once the action potential is generated, the impulse travels from the beginning to the end of the axon; this phenomenon is referred to as the _________ law.

Answer 13

All-or-none law

Question 14

The end bulbs of one neuron are separated from the dendrites of a neighbouring neuron by an extremely small space called the _____.

Answer 14

Synapse

Question 15

End bulbs release chemicals, called _________ into the synapse, which open/excite or block/inhibit neighbouring receptors.

Answer 15

Neurotransmitters

Question 16

From end bulbs, chemical keys or ______ are secreted into the synapse. These chemical keys open matching locks called _______, which are located on the surface of neighbouring dentrites, muscles, or organs.

Answer 16

Neurotransmitters

Receptors

Question 17

Neurotransmitters that open a receptor’s lock are called ________; neurotransmitters that block a receptor’s lock are called _________.

Answer 17

Excitatory

Inhibitory

Question 18

Neurons in the brain and spinal cord make up the _____ ______ ______.

Answer 18

Central nervous system

Question 19

If neurons are damaged, they have little ability to ______ and usually die.

Answer 19

Regrow, repair, or reconnect

Question 20

The mature human brain has a limited ability to regrow ________ throughout adulthood.

Answer 20

Neurons

Question 21

Information from the body’s senses, skin, organs, and muscles is carried to and from the spinal cord by nerves that make up the ______ ______ ______.

Answer 21

Peripheral nervous system

Question 22

If the peripheral nervous system is damaged, _________ in this system have a remarkable ability to regrow and make new connections.

Answer 22

Nerves

Question 23

Sensing pain, your hand automatically withdraws because of a prewired response. Neurons that carry “pain information” to the spinal cord are called _________ neurons.

Answer 23

Sensory or afferent

Question 24

Inside the spinal cord, there are short neurons, called ______, that make connections between other neurons that carry information to the brain.

Answer 24

Interneurons

Question 25

Neurons that carry information away from the spinal cord to muscles or organs are called ________ neurons.

Answer 25

Motor or efferent

Question 27

The process of developing new neurons is called _______.

Answer 27

Neurogensis

Question 28

A ________ is a chemical messenger that carries information between nerves and body organs, such as muscles and heart.

Answer 28

Transmitter

Question 29

________ are small proteinlike molecules used by neurons to communicate with each other, different from larger neurotransmitters.

Answer 29

Neuropeptides

Question 30

Chemicals produced by the brain and secreted in response to injury or severe stress are called _______.

Answer 30

Endorphins

Question 31

The movement of automatically withdrawing your hand after touching a hot object is called a _____, which involves several or more neurons.

Answer 31

Reflex response

Question 32

Information is carried from the spinal cord to the muscle by the ________ neuron.

Answer 32

Sensory or afferent

Question 33

Connections between efferent (motor) and afferent (sensory) neurons are made by relatively short ________, which also send signals to the brain.

Answer 33

Interneurons

Question 34

The functions of reflexes include protecting body parts from _______ and automatically regulating the _______ responses of the body.

Answer 34

Injury or harm Physiological

Question 35

One of cocaine's effects on the nervous system is to block the process of ________ so that the neurotransmitter remains in the synapse longer, causing physiological arousal.

Answer 35

Reputake

Question 36

A drug that blocks receptors on muscles and causes paralysis is ______.

Answer 36

Curare

Question 37

A drug that has chemical keys similar to endorphins and causes uncontrollable laughing and hallucinations is ______.

Answer 37

Salvia

Question 38

The tremors and rigidity of Parkinson's disease is the result when a group of structures that regulate movement, called the ________, lose their supply of dopamine.

Answer 38

Basal ganglia

Question 39

In experimental treatment, fetal brain cells or stem cells can be transplanted into a precise location of the patient's brain by a technique called the ______ procedure.

Answer 39

Stereotaxic

Question 40

Stem cells have the amazing ability to develop into _________ to treat spinal cord injuries and diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Answer 40

Stem cells