Neuron Ninjas!
What part of a neuron receives incoming messages?
Dendrites
What is the electrical impulse that travels along an axon called?
Action potential
What two main parts make up the central nervous system?
Brain and spinal cord
Which brain part keeps you breathing and your heart beating?
Medulla
Which lobe of the brain is primarily responsible for processing visual information?
Occipital lobe
What part of a neuron carries electrical impulses away from the cell body?
Axon
What are the chemical messengers that carry signals between neurons called?
Neurotransmitters
Which brain part helps you keep your balance?
Cerebellum
What brain structure helps coordinate balance and smooth movements?
Cerebellum
Which lobe processes much of the body's touch and spatial information?
Parietal lobe
What is the fatty covering that helps electrical signals travel faster along an axon?
Myelin sheath
What is the minimum level of stimulation a neuron must reach before it fires?
Threshold
Which brain part acts like a relay station for most senses?
Thalamus
What brain structure relays most sensory information to the cerebral cortex?
Thalamus
Which lobe is especially important for hearing and language comprehension?
400
Temporal lobe
What is the tiny gap between one neuron's axon terminal and the next cell called?
Synaptic cleft (synapse)
Does a neural message travel from the dendrites toward the axon terminals or the other way around?
From dendrites toward axon terminals
What branch of the nervous system prepares the body for fight-or-flight?
Sympathetic nervous system
Which part of your brain helps you feel fear when something scares you?
Amygdala
Which lobe is important for planning, decision-making, and voluntary movement?
Frontal lobe
What type of neuron carries information from your skin to your brain?
Sensory neuron
What happens when an electrical message reaches the axon terminals?
Neurotransmitters are released
What branch of the nervous system helps the body calm down and return to rest after danger?
Parasympathetic nervous system
Which part of your brain helps control hunger, thirst, and body temperature?
Hypothalamus
A person has difficulty producing fluent speech after damage to a region usually located in the left frontal lobe. What is this region called?
Broca's area
What part of a neuron releases chemical messages to the next cell?
Axon terminals
After neurotransmitters cross the synapse, what part of the next neuron receives the message?
Dendrites (receptors on the receiving cell)
What division of the nervous system connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body?
Peripheral nervous system
A person experiences brain damage and can no longer form new explicit long-term memories. Which limbic structure was most likely damaged?
Hippocampus
A student can recognize words but struggles to understand spoken language after damage to a region usually in the left temporal lobe. What is this region called?
Wernicke's area