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Neurons

Last updated 7 months ago
8 questions
Please read below before answering the questions for a refresher. Each worksheet has a word bank to help you answer the questions as well. Don't worry about your score since this is for review, but it is important to understand these concepts for our upcoming unit on the brain.

Nerve Cells

Although the nervous system is very complex, nervous tissue consists of just two basic types of nerve cells: neurons and glial cells.
Neurons are the structural and functional units of the nervous system. They transmit electrical signals, called nerve impulses.

Neuron Structure

A neuron consists of three basic parts: the cell body, dendrites, and axon.
  • The cell body contains the nucleus and other cell organelles.
  • Dendrites extend from the cell body and receive nerve impulses from other neurons.
  • The axon is a long extension of the cell body that transmits nerve impulses to other cells. The axon branches at the end, forming axon terminals. These are the points where the neuron communicates with other cells.
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What organ system are neurons found in?

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1 shows the structures of the neuron the RECEIVE information. They are called

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What part of the neuron is pictured in #2?

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3 is indicating the very ends of the axon. They are called

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4 is pointing to the "command center" of the cell. It is the

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5 is the structure that carries the signal AWAY from the cell body. It is the

Communication Between Neurons

Neurons communicate with each other at specialized junctions called synapses. Synapses are also found at junctions between neurons and other cells such as muscle cells.
There are two types of synapses:
  • Chemical synapses use chemical signaling molecules as messengers. We are focusing on this type of synapse.
  • Electrical synapses use ions as messengers.
At a chemical synapse, the axon terminal of one neuron does not touch the other cell. The gap between two neurons is called a synaptic cleft. Neurotransmitters travel through the synaptic cleft to send messages to the receiving neuron's dendrites. The transmitting cell is called the presynaptic neuron, and the receiving cell is called the postsynaptic cell or, if it is another neuron, the postsynaptic neuron.
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Is a presynaptic neuron sending or receiving a message from other neurons

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Can a neuron send signals to cells that are not neurons?