Vocab
What is the coordinator of the nervous system?
The brain
Brainstorm: what do you think would happen if there was a problem with the spinal cord? Provide examples in your answer.
Messages might not be able to travel to the brain or to nerve cells impacting specific muscle control in the body. For example, someone with spinal cord damage may not be able to move their legs.
What is the spinal cord?
A bundle of nerves enclosed in the spine, which connects almost all parts of the body to the brain
Write a definition for nerve cell.
A cell that passes signals/messages throughout the nervous system
Why do you think the response time in Lab Investigation 3, the ruler drop, usually becomes shorter over time?
You can speed up nerve transmission with practice. If a teammate's response time did not become shorter over time, that’s okay. It’s likely their response time will decrease after more trials.
Describe an example of a stimulus. Specify what type of stimulus it is.
A car honking is an example of an auditory stimulus. Someone high fiving you is an example of a tactile (touch) stimulus.
Write a definition for stimulus.
An outside event that causes a response in the nervous system
Why do we blink when someone claps near our head?
Blinking protects our eyes from damage
How does the eye detect exam work? Why is it more effective than a polygraph?
The device asks true or false questions and measures pupils. When people are lying their pupils become larger because lying requires more energy. It eliminates human bias and increases accuracy.
Write a definition for sensory neuron.
A type of nerve cell that transmits stimulus information from the outside world. Sensory neurons communicate our five senses to our brain.
In Lab Investigation 3 the ruler drop, was there a delay between the moment the Test Subject saw the ruler and the moment they caught it? If so, how could you explain this delay?
It takes time for a signal to travel from sensory neurons to the brain and back out to the motor neurons. This is what causes the delay.
What nervous system path will an incoming stimulus follow?
stimulus, sensory neuron, (possibly spinal cord), brain, (possibly spinal cord), motor neuron, response
Write a definition for motor neuron.
A type of nerve cell that transmits messages from the brain and spinal cord back to your muscles and organs
Brainstorm: what do you think would happen if there was a problem with the sensory neurons? Provide examples in your answer.
Your nervous system would be unable to gather any information from the outside environment, thus causing a loss in some type of sensation (Ex: inability to smell, see, taste, hear, feel, etc)
How might a motor neuron disease affect a person's body and nervous system?