| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Central Nervous system | the network of nerves and neurons that comprises the brain and spinal cord |
| Peripheral nervous system | entire network of nerves that transmits information to and from the CNS |
| somatic nervous system | a network of sensory nerves that carry information received at sensory receptor sites in the body to the CNS and motor nerves that carry information from the CNS to the muscles that control movements of the body |
| two main branches of the peripheral nervous system | somatic and autonomic |
| autonomic nervous system | a network of nerves that carries messages between the CNS and the heart, lungs and other internal organs and glands. |
| two main branches of the autonomic nervous system | sympathetic and parasympathetic |
| sympathetic nervous system | arouses the body when we experience an extreme emotion or feel threatened |
| parasympathetic nervous system | calms or restores the body to a normal state of functioning (homeostasis) after an extreme emotion subsides or a threat has passed |
| neuron | an individual nerve cell that transmits information with the body |
| soma | the cell body; the structure that determines whether the neuron will be activated and thus transmit information to other neurons |
| nucleus | contains biochemical information that provides the energy to keep the neuron functioning. |
| dendrite | is short, thin widely branching nerve fibre that is specialised to detect and recieve neural information. |
| axon | a single, tubelike, fluid-filled extension that transmits messages from the soma to other cells in the body |
| axon terminals | these branches are at the end of each axon |
| synaptic buttons | AKA the synaptic knob or terminal button. a small structure like a sac that stores chemicals called neurotransmitters |
| myelin sheath | a white, fatty covering that helps insulate the axon from axons of other neurons |
| sensory neurons | AKA afferent neurons. Specialised cells that receive information from both the external environment and from within the body and transmit information to the CNS |
| motor neurons | AKA efferent neurons. transmit information from the CNS to the muscles, glands and organs |
| interneurons | provide neural links between sensory and motor neurons and carry and integrate messages between the two. |
| neural impulse | AKA action potential. A combination of electrical and chemical energy (electrochemical energy) that contains the neural information which travels along the axon |
| synaptic gap | the gap which separates one neuron from the next |
| synapse | the point of communication between neurons |
| neurotransmitter | a chemical substance that is made by the neuron and enables communication between neurons |
| neuromodulators | chemical substances that influence the activity of neurotransmitters at the synapse |
| Parkinsons disease | a disorder in which neurons at the base of the brain degenerate and gradually cease to function normally, resulting in problems with movement and balance |
| motor neurone disease | a general term used to describe a group of diseases in which motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control the muscles that enable us to move around, speak, breath, swallow fail to work normally. |
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