Parts of Neuron
Nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system
What is a nueron?
neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning, and memory. With Alzheimer’s disease, ACh-producing neurons deteriorate
What is Acetylcholine?
in neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state
What is refractory period?
A general term for when neurons send signals in a "sickened or pathological way," often used to describe neural dysfunction in conditions like schizophrenia
a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
A neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.
What is a dendrite?
neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion. Oversupply linked to schizophrenia. Undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s disease
What is Dopamine?
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
What is action potential?
a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action
What is Antagonist?
the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists (
what is biological psychology?
The segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
What is an axon?
neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression. Some drugs that raise serotonin levels are used to treat depression (
What is serotonin?
: the electric potential across the plasma membrane of a neuron when it is in the nonexcited, or resting, state
What is resting period?
a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action
What is agonist?
Neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure. Oversupply with opioid drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply (
What is endorphins?
A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; it enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
What is a myelin sheath?
neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal. Undersupply can depress mood
What is Norepinephrine?
a neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing
What is all or none response?
an autoimmune disorder in which the body produces antibodies against acetylcholine receptors, causing faulty transmission of nerve impulses at neuromuscular junctions
What is myasthenia gravis?
a reduction in the electric potential across the plasma membrane of a cell, especially a neuron, such that the inner surface of the membrane becomes less negative in relation to the outer surface. If the stimulus intensity exceeds the excitatory threshold of the neuron, an action potential is created and a nerve impulse propagated
What is depolarization?
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
What is the glial cells?
A major inhibitory neurotransmitter. Undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia
What is GABA?
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft
What is synapse?
a disease of the central nervous system characterized by scarring of the protective myelin sheath of nerves, which damages and destroys the sheath and the underlying nerve, disrupting neural transmission
What is multiple sclerosis?
neurotransmitter involved in pain perception and immune response. Oversupply can lead to chronic pain
What is substance p?