Divisions of the Nervous System
This nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
What is the Central Nervous System (CNS)?
This branch of the autonomic nervous system prepares the body for stressful situations by triggering the fight or flight response.
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System?
These cells are the basic units of the nervous system, responsible for transmitting signals.
What are neurons?
This part of the brain controls vital functions such as heart rate and breathing.
What is the brainstem?
The spinal cord is part of this major division of the nervous system.
What is the Central Nervous System (CNS)?
This part of the nervous system includes all the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord.
What is the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)?
This system is responsible for returning the body to a relaxed state after a threat has passed
What is the Parasympathetic Nervous System?
This part of the neuron receives incoming signals from other neurons.
What are dendrites?
This part of the brain is responsible for higher-level thinking, decision-making, and planning.
What is the frontal lobe (or prefrontal cortex)?
This bundle of nerves carries signals from the brain to the body and back again, running through the vertebral column.
What is the spinal cord?
This system controls voluntary muscle movements, such as lifting your arm.
What is the Somatic Nervous System?
The autonomic nervous system is divided into two parts: sympathetic and this.
What is the Parasympathetic Nervous System?
This long, threadlike part of the neuron carries electrical impulses away from the cell body.
What is an axon?
This area of the brain controls balance, coordination, and voluntary movements.
What is the cerebellum?
The spinal cord is protected by these bones.
What are vertebrae?
This system, part of the PNS, controls involuntary functions such as heart rate and digestion.
What is the Autonomic Nervous System?
This substance is released into the bloodstream by the adrenal glands during sympathetic activation, giving you a boost of energy.
What is adrenaline (or epinephrine)?
These chemical messengers are released from the axon terminal to cross the synapse and communicate with the next neuron.
What are neurotransmitters?
This part of the brain is known as the "emotional center" and plays a key role in processing fear and aggression.
What is the amygdala?
These nerves carry signals from the brain to the muscles for voluntary movement.
What are motor neurons?
The nervous system is divided into two major parts: the central nervous system and this system.
What is the Peripheral Nervous System?
The parasympathetic system helps store energy in the liver by converting glucose into this storage form.
What is glycogen?
The protective sheath that covers axons and helps speed up nerve impulses is called this.
What is the myelin sheath?
This structure, located deep in the brain, relays sensory information to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.
What is the thalamus?
This type of reflex involves a direct connection between sensory and motor neurons in the spinal cord, without involving the brain.
What is a spinal reflex?