CNS
What two things make up the Central Nervous System?
The Brain and the Spinal Cord
What makes up the peripheral nervous system?
All of the nerves that lie outside the central nervous system.
What part of the brain is responsible for thoughts and actions?
The cerebrum.
What type of neurons would you find in your ears?
Sensory neurons.
What basic characteristic of life is completed by the nervous system among all living things?
Response to stimuli.
What organ is referred to as the "control center" of the nervous system?
The brain.
You touch a hot plate and pull your hand away. How is this your peripheral nervous system communicating with your central nervous system?
Your sensory neurons in your skin send a nerve impulse to your spinal cord, telling you to pull your hand away. This is technically a reflex, which means your brain is not involved in the process.
The cerebellum is responsible for _____.
coordination and balance.
What part of the neuron receives the impulse first?
The dendrites.
What are the two divisions of the nervous system called?
The Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
How does the central nervous system communicate with the peripheral nervous system?
Nerve impulse are sent from the brain to the body by traveling down the spinal cord and into the peripheral nerves, and vice versa.
You smell something funky and immediately plug your nose. How is this an example of response to stimuli? Why does this happen?
The stimuli is the smell in the environment, and your response is to plug your nose. This is to maintain your bodies' homeostasis.
What part of the brain controls actions like breathing and digestion? What would you call these processes?
The brain stem; involuntary actions.
What is the gap in-between each neuron called?
The synapse.
What would you consider the "messengers" of the nervous system? What would be the "message"?
Messenger: neurons.
Message: nerve impulse.
What happens if the spinal cord gets injured?
You go outside in August, and immediately start sweating. How is this an example of maintaining homeostasis? Explain thoroughly.
You go outside and your body's internal temperature rises too high. Your body begins to sweat (cooling process), in attempt to bring your body temperature back down. This is to maintain homeostasis, or the internal stable environment within your body.
Why is the brain stem so important? Think about other parts of the central nervous system.
Connects to the spinal cord (helps communicate to the rest of the body).
The nerve impulse is ___ when it is inside the neuron, and ___ when it is traveling through the gap in between neurons.
electrical; chemical.
What's the difference between a response and a reflex?
A response involves communication with the brain and is voluntary (we have control over it) - a reflex communicates with the spinal cord only and is involuntary and faster (we do not have control over this)
You are playing dodge ball in gym and see a ball flying towards you. What happens within your Nervous System to prompt a reaction? Be specific.
1. Your sensory neurons within your eyes pick up the information from your surroundings.
2. The nerve impulse is sent from your sense organ to your brain and spinal cord, where inter neurons receive the information.
3. The nerve impulse is then sent to your motor neurons within your muscles, allowing you to raise your hands and block the ball from hitting your face.
What are the two types of neurons found within the PNS? Identify them and their function.
Sensory neurons - receive information from the environment.
Motor neurons - found in the muscles, receives the impulse from the brain and allows the body to react.
You're playing baseball with friends and are up to bat. You swing and hit the ball sending it over the fence. What part of the brain is responsible for this? How do you know?
The cerebellum; this part of the brain is responsible for coordination and balance.
Neurons aren't actually touching. Describe the process in which a nerve impulse travels from the end of one neuron to the beginning of another.
After traveling through the axon, the axon tips release a chemical called neuro transmitters. This changes the message from electrical to chemical, allowing the impulse to just the gap and enter via the dendrites of the next neuron.
Why can an injury to the nervous system cause paralysis? Fully explain and identify the parts that would be affected.
An injury to the spinal cord prevents the central nervous system from communicating with the rest of the body. This could also be caused by strokes. This prevents the body from being able to move either partially or entirely.