45. Nervous System

Neurons communicate by __________.

What are ganglia?

A neuron that transmits an impulse to the central nervous system after the neuron is stimulated by the environment is called a(n) __________.

Which of the following is specifically a part or a function of the central nervous system?

The part of a neuron that carries nerve impulses toward the cell body is called a(n) __________.

Cells that provide metabolic and structural support to the neurons are called __________.

If your fingers touch a hot stove and you suddenly pull back, you have experienced a reflex. What is the correct order of the information processing in this reflex?

Which of the following statements is correct?

In descriptions of synapse organization, which type of cell is the transmitting neuron, and which type of neuron, muscle, or gland cell receives the signal?

The interplay of multiple excitatory and inhibitory inputs most affects what part of a neuron?

Which of the following is a mechanism by which neurotransmitters can be rapidly cleared from the synaptic cleft?

Which of the following neurotransmitters typically has inhibitory effects?

Which of the following statements about the resting potential is true?

Which of the following correctly pairs up a type of synapse and its characteristic?

Which of the following is a natural pain reliever?

In humans, making more serotonin available to brain cells typically __________.

Acetylcholinesterase is the enzyme that degrades acetylcholine. What effect on nerve transmission would occur following the administration of a chemical that inhibited acetylcholinesterase?

Which of the following statements about the transmission across a typical chemical synapse is true?

How are neurons structurally adapted to chemically transmit impulses to neighboring neurons?

Action potentials are generated along a neuron because __________.

Saltatory conduction means that the membrane potential changes __________.

The period in which an axon membrane cannot generate an action potential is called __________.

An action potential is __________.

The sodium-potassium pump __________.

Which of the following statements is true?

Schwann cells make up the __________.

Blocking potassium ion channels in a mammalian cell membrane would __________.

What is an increase in the magnitude of the membrane potential called?

A drug that causes potassium to leak out of a neuron, increasing the positive charge on the outside, would __________.

Threshold is of great significance in the physiology of neurons. What happens if threshold is not reached?

Which of the following is caused by the death of specific neurons in the brain that release dopamine?

Taking illegal amphetamines ("speed") can induce symptoms similar to which of the following?

Which of the following neurotransmitters is most closely associated with schizophrenia, addiction, and Parkinson's disease?

Test your understanding of the nervous system by matching the following labels with their corresponding letters: CNS, effector cells, interneuron, motor neuron, PNS, sensory neuron, sensory receptor, spinal cord, synapse.

The inside of the neuron has a lower concentration of positive ions than the outside of the neuron. Is the membrane potential positive or negative?

What causes a nerve signal to move from one end of a neuron along the length of the neuron to the other end? What is a nerve signal, exactly? Why can't it go backward? How is a nerve signal transmitted from one neuron to the next across a synapse? Write a short paragraph that answers these questions.

Anesthetics block pain by blocking the transmission of nerve signals. Which of these three chemicals might work as anesthetics? (Choose all that apply and explain your selections.) a. a chemical that prevents the opening of voltage-gated Na+ channels in membranes b. a chemical that inhibits the enzymes that degrade neurotransmitters c. a chemical that blocks neurotransmitter receptors

SCIENTIFIC THINKING A proposal to test an SSRI in a large number of individuals with depression was submitted to the FDA. Through random assignments, half of the patients would be controls, receiving nothing at all, and half the patients would receive the drug in pill form. Patients in both groups would note changes in their own mood in a daily journal. What flaw(s) do you note in this experimental design?

Using microelectrodes, a researcher recorded nerve signals in four neurons in the brain of a snail, called A, B, C, and D in the table below. A, B, and C can all transmit signals to D. In three experiments, the animal was stimulated in different ways. The number of nerve signals transmitted per second by each of the cells is recorded in the table. Write a short paragraph explaining the different results of the three experiments.