23 Nervous System

ENCOUNTER THE PHENOMENON

Write the Encounter the Phenomenon question for this module.

Use the “What I Know” column to list the things you know about the Encounter the Phenomenon
question. Then list the questions you have about the Encounter the Phenomenon question in the
“What I Want to Find Out” column. As you read the module, fill in the “What I Learned” column.

K W L
What I Know What I Want to Find Out What I Learned
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Nervous System
1 Structure of the Nervous System
REVIEW Recall the definition of the Review Vocabulary term.
VOCABULARY
diffusion
diffusion

NEW VOCABULARY Write the correct vocabulary term in the left column for each
definition below.

specialized cell that helps you gather, interpret, and react to

information about your environment

region of a neuron that receives impulses from other neurons and

conducts them to the cell body

contains the nucleus of a neuron and many of the cell organelles

region of a neuron that carries the nerve impulse from the cell body
to other neurons and muscles

nerve pathway that consists of a sensory neuron, an interneuron, and

a motor neuron

nerve impulse

minimum stimulus to cause an action potential to be produced

gap in the myelin sheath along the length of an axon

small gap between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of

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another neuron

chemical that diffuses across a synapse and binds to receptors on the

dendrite of a neighboring cell

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 1 Structure of the Nervous System (continued)
Label the neuron. Include the axon, axon endings, cell body,
dendrites, nucleus, and myelin sheath. Draw arrows to show the
direction that impulses move through the neuron.

Get It? Relate dendrites, axons, and cell bodies.

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Analyze how the myelin sheath increases the speed at which

impulses move.

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1 Structure of the Nervous System (continued)
Sequence the steps in how a nerve impulse moves from one neuron
to another neuron by writing the numbers 1 to 5 in the squares to the
left of the steps.

The neurotransmitter moves across the synapse

and binds to receptors on the dendrite of a
neighboring neuron.

An electrical impulse is sent along an axon,

jumping from node to node in axons covered
with myelin.

The neuron is at rest, with more sodium ions

outside the cell and more potassium ions inside
the cell.

The impulse reaches the synapse, where

channels again open. Vesicles fuse with the
plasma membrane and release a neurotransmitter
by exocytosis.

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The threshold for an action potential is reached
at a dendrite, opening channels in the plasma
membrane and causing a reversal in electrical
charge.

Get It? Explain the relationship of a threshold to an action potential.

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 1 Structure of the Nervous System (continued)
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
1. Relatethe structure of a neuron to its function.

2. Describe how the structures of the nervous system are organized in a hierarchy.

3. Inferwhy energy is necessary to counteract the diffusion of Na+ and K+ ions across
the plasma membrane of a neuron.

4. Plan an experiment that neurobiologists could use to show that an action potential
travels faster along a myelinated axon than along a nonmyelinated axon.
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5. The sciatic nerve extends from the lower spinal cord to the foot. If a person’s sciatic
nerve is 0.914 m in length and the speed of an action potential is 107 m/s, how long
will it take for a nerve impulse to travel the full distance of this nerve?

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