The Nervous System
Brain Structures & their functions
Neurotransmitters
Blood supply of the Brain
Steps of a Reflex Arc
100

This part of the nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord.

What is the Central Nervous System (CNS)?

100

This deep groove separates the left and right cerebral hemispheres and runs from the anterior to posterior part of the brain.

What is the longitudinal fissure?

100

The cell wall at the end of the axon; it encases the synaptic vesicles within the terminal segments.

What is the presynaptci membrane?

100

This artery emerges from the heart and ascends in the thorax before turning around and descending toward the abdomen. 

What is the aorta? 

100

An external or internal event triggers the reflex.

What is a stimulus?

200

This division of the nervous system connects the CNS to the rest of the body through cranial and spinal nerves.

What is the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)?

200

This lobe, shown in green on the diagram, contains the precentral gyrus and is responsible for movement, planning, and higher-level cognition.

What is the frontal lobe?

200

This is the receiving part of a synapse, where signals sent from the presynaptic membrane of one neuron are picked up for processing by another neuron. 

What is the postsynaptic membrane?

200

 This is a major branch of the aortic arch, supplying blood to the arm on the same side as the artery. 

What is the subclavian artery? 

200

A specialized sensory cell detects the stimulus and converts it into an electrical signal.

What is a receptor?

300
This hemisphere of the brain controls language, analytical processing and logical reasoning.

What is the left hemisphere?

300

This hidden cortical region is located deep within the lateral sulcus and helps control speaking, swallowing, and emotional awareness.

What is the insular lobe (insula)?

300

This is the intercellular space between the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes. 

What is the synaptic cleft? 

300

The vertebral arteries, basilar artery, and posterior cerebral arteries.

What are the arteries of the posterior circulatory system of the CNS?

300

The electrical signal travels along this to the spinal cord or brainstem.

What is a sensory neuron?

400

This division of the PNS controls involuntary actions like heart rate, digestion and breathing.

What is the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)?

400

This major fiber bundle connects the left and right hemispheres, allowing communication between them for coordinated functions like language and prosody.

What is the corpus callosum?

400

The two most important of the positively charged ions in the extracellular fluid. 

What is potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+)?

400

Known as the brain's built-in safety net.

What is the Circle of Willis?

400

In the spinal cord or brainstem, the sensory neuron synapses with this, which relays the signal to the appropriate motor neuron.

What is an Interneuron?

500

This system within the PNS regulates digestion and functions independently from the brain and spinal cord.

What is the Enteric Nervous System (ENS)?

500

This “oldest part” of the CNS includes the midbrain, pons, and medulla and contains nuclei essential for respiration, cardiac control, swallowing, and cranial nerves II–XII.

What is the brainstem?

500

This is the change of the negative resting potential to a positive value and the subsequent return of the potential to a negative resting value. 

What is the action potential?

500

Occlusion of this largest branch of the internal carotid artery is the most common cause of ischemic stroke.

What is the middle cerebral artery?

500

This carries the electrical signal from the interneuron to the effector organ.

What is a motor neuron?