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MCAT Nervous System
Nervous System Physiology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| motor neurons | begin in the central nervous system projecting their axons outside the CNS and directly or indirectly controlling muscles |
| axoplasmic transport | responsible for movement of mitochondria, lipids, synaptic vesicles, proteins, and other cell parts to and from a neuron's cell body through the cytoplasm of its axon; also called axonal transport |
| dopamine | a phenethylamine hormone and neurotransmitter. as a hormone, it inhibits the release of prolactin from the anterior lobe of the pituitary. as a neurotransmitter in the brain, it activates five types of receptors and their variants |
| reflex action | an autonomic (involuntary) neuromuscular action elicited by a defined stimulus |
| brain | the control center of the central nervous system; also known at the encephalon |
| enteric nervous system | the part of the nervous system that directly controls the gastrointestinal system |
| spinal canal | the space in the vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes; also known as the spinal cavity |
| hyperpolarization | any change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more polarized |
| dura mater | the tough and inflexible outermost of the three layers of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord; also known as the pachymeninx |
| ganglion | A tissue mass composed mainly of somata and dendritic structures. They are often connected interconnected with each other to form a complex known as a plexus |
| autonomic nervous system | the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system, maintaining homeostasis in the body |
| arachnoid mater | One of the three meninges. It is interposed between the more superficial dura mater and the deeper pia mater |
| pineal gland | A small endocrine gland in the brain which produces melatonin |
| substance P | associated in the regulation of mood disorders, anxiety, stress, reinforcement, neurogenesis, respiratory rhythm, neurotoxicity, nausea/emesis, and pain; also called tachykinin neuropeptide |
| neuropeptide | any of the variety of peptides found in neural tissue; examples include the endorphins and enkephalins |
| medulla oblongata | the lower portion of the brainstem |
| axon guidance | describes the means by which neurons send out axons to reach the correct targets; also called axon pathfinding |
| parietal lobe | a lobe in the brain positioned above the occipital lobe and behind the frontal lobe which integrates sensory information from different modalities, particularly determining spatial sense and navigation |
| reflex arc | the neural pathway that mediates a reflex action |
| limbic system | the part of the human brain involved in emotion, motivation, and emotional association with memory |
| cerebrum | a large region within the brain to which many functions are attributed; also known as the forebrain or telencephalon |
| GABA | the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and also in the retina; gamma-aminobutyric acid |
| resting potential | the membrane potential that would be maintained if there were no action potentials, synaptic potentials, or other active changes in the membrane potential |
| cerebellum | a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor control, using constant feedback on body position to fine-tune motor movements |
| parasympathetic ganglia | mostly small terminal ganglia or intramural ganglia lying near or within the organs they innervate |
| bipolar cell | a type of neuron having two extensions, which is a specialized sensory neuron for the transmission of special senses |
| axon hillock | the anatomical part of a neuron that connects the cell body, called soma, to the axon |
| white matter | composed of myelinated nerve cell processes, or axons, which connect various gray matter areas of the brain to each other |
| sympathetic trunk | a bundle of nerve fiber, a chain of ganglia, that runs from the base of the skull to the coccyx |
| saltatory conduction | the means by which action potentials are transmitted along myelinated nerve fibers |
| action potential | a spike of electrical discharge that travels along the membrane of a cell |
| synaptic vesicles | store the various neurotransmitters that are released during calcium-regulated exocytosis into the synaptic cleft of a synapse |
| ventricular system | a set of structures in the brain continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord through which cerebrospinal fluid flows |
| broca's area | a section of the human brain that is involved in language processing, speech production, and comprehension |
| dendrites | the branched projections of a neuron that act to conduct the electrical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body of the neuron |
| hypothalamus | located just below the thalamus; links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland |
| axolemma | the membrane of a neuron's axon |
| neurotransmitters | chemicals that are used to relay, amplify, and modulate signals between a neuron and another cell |
| neural network | refers to a network or circuitry of biological neurons |
| dendritic spine | a small membranous extrusion that protrudes from a dendrite and forms one half of a synapse |
| mesencephalon | the middle of three vesicles that arise from the neural tube that forms the brain of developing animals; also known as the midbrain |
| preganglionic fibers | fibers from the CNS to the ganglion; found in the autonomic nervous system |
| synaptic plasticity | the ability of the connection, or synapse, between two neurons to change in strength. |
| efferent nerves | carry nerve impulses away from the central nervous system to effectors such as muscles or glands; also known as motor or effector neurons |
| neuromuscular junction | the synapse or junction of the axon terminal of a motoneuron with the motor end plate |
| myelin | an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons |
| spinal cord | a thin, tubular bundle of nerves that is an extension of the central nervous system from the brain, enclosed and protected by the bony vertebral column |
| fight-or-flight response | states that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the sympathetic nervous system |
| neurons | electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information |
| pia mater | the delicate innermost layer of the meninges |
| occipital lobe | the visual processing center of the mammalian brain, containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex |
Created by:
kameyer85
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