NERVOUS system
the brain and spinal cord.
What is... central nervous system (CNS)
the part of a neuron that contains the nucleus; the cell’s life-support center.
What is... cell body
Rhode Island's state motto
What is... "Hope" (the shortest state motto)
the central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions.
What is... brainstem
a periodic, natural loss of consciousness — as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.
What is... sleep
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.
What is... peripheral nervous system (PNS)
a neuron’s often bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body.
What is... dendrites
What do you call a piece of land that’s almost — but not entirely — surrounded by water?
What is... a peninsula
the hindbrain’s “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
What is... cerebellum
information processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
What is... bottom-up processing
bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs.
What is... nerves
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... myelin [MY-uh-lin] sheath
What is the only planet in our solar system to rotate clockwise on its axis?
What is VENUS
neural system located mostly in the forebrain — below the cerebral hemispheres — that includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland; associated with emotions and drives.
What is... limbic system
the minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
What is... absolute threshold
neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
What is... sensory (afferent) neurons
a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron.
reuptake
Who is Barbie's little sister?
two lima-bean–sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.
What is... amygdala
the eye’s clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris.
What is... cornea
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
What is... autonomic [aw-tuh-NAHM-ik] nervous system (ANS)
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.
What is... glial cells (glia)
Richard Hatch is the very first winner of which reality TV show? He is also from Rhode Island.
What is... "Survivor"
a cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
What is... somatosensory cortex
a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN adjusts melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness.
What is... suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)