neuroscience

Question 1

• is a nerve cell.

- is the basic building block of the nervous system.

Answer 1

neuron

Question 2

• is a neuron’s bushy, branching extension that receives messages and conducts impulses toward the cell body.
• is the neuron extension that listens to other neurons.
• neuron extension that is typically short.

Answer 2

dendrite

Question 3

• is the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to the muscles or glands.
• is the neuron extension that speaks to other neurons.
• neuron extension that may be very long, projecting several feet through the body.

Answer 3

axon

Question 4

• is a layer of fatty tissue that encases some axons.
• helps to insulate axons and speed their impulses.
• is degenerated in multiple sclerosis (MS), resulting in slowed communication to the muscles and eventual loss of muscle control.

Answer 4

myelin sheath

Question 5

• is a cell in the nervous system that supports, nourishes, and protects neurons.
• is the cell that provides myelin.
• type of cell that there were found to be more of in Albert Einstein’s brain.

Answer 5

glial cell

Question 6

• is a neural impulse.

- is a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Answer 6

action potential

Question 7

• is the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
• is the minimum intensity that excitatory signals need to be greater in amount than inhibitory signals in order to trigger an action potential.

Answer 7

threshold

Question 8

• is the junction between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another neuron.
• includes a tiny gap, less than a millionth of an inch wide, between the sending neuron and the receiving neuron.

Answer 8

synapse

Question 9

• is a chemical messenger that crosses the synapse.
• is released by a sending neuron and binds to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

Answer 9

neurotransmitter

Question 10

is the reabsorption of excess neurotransmitters by the sending neuron

Answer 10

reuptake

Question 11

division of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord.
division of the nervous system that is the body’s decision maker.

Answer 11

central nervous system

Question 12

• division of the nervous system that includes all the sensory and motor neurons outside the brain and spinal cord and that connect them to the rest of the body.
• division of the nervous system that is responsible for gathering information about the body and transmitting decisions to the body.

Answer 12

peripheral nervous system

Question 13

• division of the peripheral nervous system that enables voluntary control of our skeletal muscles.
• division of the peripheral nervous system that reports the current state of your skeletal muscles and carries instructions to your skeletal muscles.
• division of the peripheral nervous system that can trigger your hand to turn a page.

Answer 13

somatic nervous system

Question 14

• division of the peripheral nervous system that controls our glands and the muscles of our internal organs, influencing the glands, the heart, and the digestive system.
• division of the peripheral nervous system that acts like an automatic pilot, usually operating on its own.

Answer 14

autonomic nervous system

Question 15

division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
division of the autonomic nervous system that accelerates your heartbeat, raises your blood pressure, slows digestion, raises blood sugar, and cools you with perspiration.

Answer 15

sympathetic nervous system

Question 16

• division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.
• division of the autonomic nervous system that decreases heartbeat, lowers blood sugar, and stimulates digestion.

Answer 16

parasympathetic nervous system

Question 17

• brain structure that is located at the base of the brainstem.
• brain structure that controls heartbeat and breathing.

Answer 17

medula

Question 18

• brain structure that sits just above the medulla.
• brainstem structure that still allows an animal to run, climb, and groom (albeit nonpurposefully) even if the brainstem is severed from the rest of the brain.

Answer 18

pons

Question 19

• brain structure that extends from the rear of the brainstem.
• brain structure that is a baseball-sized structure whose name in Latin literally means “little brain”.
• brain structure that has functions that include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.
• brain structure that, if damaged, would cause you to have difficulty walking, keeping your balance, or shaking hands.

Answer 19

cerrebellum

Question 20

• brain structure that is a finger-shaped network of neurons that extends from the spinal cord right up through the thalamus.
• brain structure that plays an important role in controlling arousal, with damage to it resulting in coma.

Answer 20

reticular formation

Question 21

• brain structure that sits atop the brainstem.
• brain structure that is a pair of egg-shaped structures that act as the brain’s sensory switchboard, receiving sensory information and routing it to appropriate higher brain regions.

Answer 21

thallamus

Question 22

• brain structure that lies just below the thalamus.
• brain structure that directs several maintenance activities, including eating, drinking, body temperature, and sexual behavior.
• brain structure that helps govern the hormonal, endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Answer 22

hypothalamus

Question 23

• brain structure that is located in the limbic system and is linked to emotion, such as aggression and fear.
• brain structure that, if damaged, would cause a wild animal to become tame and mellow.

Answer 23

amygdala

Question 24

• brain structure that is located in the limbic system and processes conscious memories.
• brain structure that, if damaged, would cause an inability to form new memories of facts or events.

Answer 24

hippocampus

Question 25

• brain structure that is the thin surface layer of neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres, like bark on a tree.
• brain structure that is the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.
• brain structure that is your brain’s thinking crown.
• brain structure that is larger in mammals, allowing increased capacities for learning and thinking, and enabling mammals to be more adaptable.

Answer 25

cerebral cortex