Headquarters
This part of your brain is working overtime every time you catch a ball or ride a skateboard.
Cerebellum -- balance and motor coordination
The "antennae" of a neuron — they pick up incoming signals.
Dendrites -- the receiving end of a neuron; signals always enter here first before traveling toward the axon.
You don't decide to do it. Your body just does it. What's this type of response called?
A reflex. A reflex is involuntary — your nervous system triggers it automatically without waiting for your brain to decide.
The two big divisions of the nervous system — one is central, one is...?
The CNS and the PNS. CNS = brain + spinal cord. PNS = everything else — all the nerves branching out through the body.
Neurons never actually touch each other. What's the tiny gap between them called?
Synapse
You forgot your best friend's birthday — blame this part of your brain.
Cerebrum -- controls memory, language, and higher thinking
This is the fatty wrap around the axon
The myelin sheath (insulates the axon so the electrical signal doesn't leak out — insulation = faster travel.)
You touch something sharp. This structure is the very first to notice.
The receptor -- receptors are sensory structures (often in the skin) that detect the stimulus
You decide to wave at someone across the hall. This division of the PNS made that happen.
The somatic nervous system -- somatic controls skeletal muscles — anything you consciously choose to move goes through this division.
These chemicals jump across the synapse to carry a signal to the next neuron.
Neurotransmitters. They're released from terminal branches, cross the synapse, and bind to receptors on the next neuron's dendrites to continue the signal.
You don't have to think about breathing right now. Thank this structure.
Medulla (brainstem) -- runs automatic, life-sustaining functions like breathing and heartbeat
Starting from where signals arrive and ending where they leave — put a neuron's parts in order.
dendrite → soma → axon → terminal branches
From the moment you touch something hot to the moment your hand pulls away — put the 5 stops of a reflex arc in order.
receptor → sensory neuron → interneuron → motor neuron → effector
Your stomach is digesting lunch right now and you had no say in it. Which division handles that?
The autonomic nervous system -- runs organs and internal functions without you ever thinking about them.
Before neurotransmitters are released, they're stored in these little bubble-like containers.
Vesicles. They keep neurotransmitters packaged and ready — when a signal arrives, they fuse with the cell membrane and release their contents.
After a ski accident, a patient can talk fine but keeps falling over. Name both brain structures involved.
Cerebrum (intact — she can talk) and the cerebellum (damaged — explains the falling).
Someone's myelin sheath is slowly destroyed by a disease. What goes wrong and why?
Signals slow down — the myelin insulates the axon, so without it the impulse loses speed.
Why is the reflex arc able to produce such a fast response?
The signal only travels to the spinal cord, not the brain — shorter path, faster response.
The nervous system carries out one specific life process. It's not transport, not reproduction — what is it?
Regulation. Regulation means maintaining control and coordination of the body's responses to internal and external changes.
SSRIs are antidepressants that block reuptake proteins. Using the word "synapse," explain why this actually helps someone feel better.
Serotonin stays in the synapse longer instead of being taken back up, so its feel-good effect on the next neuron lasts longer. More serotonin in the synapse = more binding to receptors = stronger, longer signal = prolonged feeling of happiness.