Phy 200 Ch. 2

The body's electrochemical communication circuitry.

The brain's special capacity for change.

Also called sensory nerves; nerves that carry information about the external environment to the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors.

Also called motor nerves; nerves that carry information out of the brain and spinal cord to other areas of the body

Networks of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output.

The brain and spinal cord

The network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body.

The body system consisting of sensory nerves, whose function is to convey information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about conditions such as pain and temp, and the motor nerves, whose function is to tell muscles what to do.

The body system that takes messages to and from the body's internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate, and digestion.

The part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to mobilize it for action and thus is involved in the experience of stress

The part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body.

The response of individuals to environmental stressors.

Circumstances and events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities and that cause physiological changes to ready the body to handle the assault of stress.

One of two types of cells in the nervous system; neurons are the nerve  cells that handle the information processing function

The second of two types of cells in the nervous system; glial cells (also called glia) provide support, nutritional benefits, and other functions and keep neurons running smoothly.

The part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, which directs the manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance.

A layer of fat cells that encases and insulates most axons.

Treelike fibers projecting from a neuron, which receive information and orient it toward the neuron's cell body.

The part of the neuron that carries information away from the cell body toward other cells.

The stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron.

The brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon.

The principle that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain level of intensity(its threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any intensity.

Tiny spaces between neurons; the gap between neurons is referred to as synaptic gap.