| Question | Answer |
| The basic units of the nervous system; cells that receive, integrate, and transmit information in the nervous system. They operate through electrical impulses. | Neurons |
| What system is the brain and spinal cord part of? | Central Nervous System (CNS) |
| All nerve cells in the body that are not part of the central nervous system. | Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) |
| What are the 3 basic phases of a neuron? | 1. Reception
2. Integration
3. Transmission |
| What are the 3 types of neurons? | 1. Sensory Neurons
2. Motor Neurons
3. Interneurons |
| These detect information from the physical world and pass that information to the brain. | Sensory Neurons |
| These direct muscles to contract or relax, thereby producing movement. | Motor Neurons |
| These communicate only with others | Interneurons |
| Branchlike extensions of the neuron that detect information from other neurons. | Dendrites |
| Site, in the neuron, where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and integrated. | Soma or Cell Body |
| A long narrow outgrowth of a neuron by which information is transmitted to other neurons. | Axon |
| Small nodules, at the ends of axons, that release the chemical signals from the neuron into thy synapse. | Terminal Buttons |
| The site at which chemical communication occurs between neurons. | Synapse |
| The gap between the axon of a "sending" neuron and the dendrites of a "receiving" neuron; it contains extracellular fluid. | Synaptic Cleft |
| A fatty material, made up of glial cells, that insulates the axon and allows for the rapid movement of electrical impulses along the axon. | Myelin Sheath |
| Small gaps of exposed axon, between the segments of myelin sheath, where action potentials are transmitted. | Nodes of Ranvier |
| The electrical charge of a neuron when it is not active. | Resting Membrane Potential |
| The neural impulse that passes along the axon and subsequently causes the release of chemicals from the terminal buttons to transmit signals to other neurons. | Action Potential |
| Neuron will either fire or not. | All-or-None Principle |
| Chemical substances that carry signals from one neuron to another. | Neurotransmitters |
