Central and Peripheral Nervous System Quiz

Central Nervous System

• The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• Gray matter is made up of neuron cell bodies.
• Sensory neurons carry information from the body to the CNS.
• Motor neurons carry information from the CNS to muscles and glands.
• The spinal cord connects to the PNS via spinal nerves.

Peripheral Nervous System

• Contains sensory receptors, sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons.
• The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is comprised of all nerves outside the CNS.
• It provides pathways for information to travel to and from the CNS.

Autonomic Nervous System

• Controls involuntary functions of internal organs, like breathing and heartbeat.
• The sympathetic division prepares the body for action.
• The parasympathetic division relaxes the body.

Reflexes

• Sudden involuntary movements that don't require conscious control.
• They bypass the brain and are processed in the spinal cord.

Neurons

• Neurons are nerve cells that transmit information.
• Dendrites are extensions of the neuron that receive information.
• Axons are extensions of the neuron that transmit information.
• The myelin sheath insulates the axon and helps to speed up nerve impulses.
• Nodes of Ranvier are gaps in the myelin sheath that allow for faster transmission.
• Unmyelinated axons have slower nerve impulses.
• Myelinated axons have faster nerve impulses.

Neuron Signals

• When a neuron is at rest, there are more sodium ions outside the cell than inside.
• The outside of the cell is positively charged.
• The sodium-potassium pump helps restore the resting potential after an action potential.
• A nerve impulse is the movement of an action potential along an axon.
• When an impulse moves down the axon, sodium ions rush into the cell, causing the inside of the cell to become positively charged.
• Neurotransmitters are chemicals released at synapses that transmit signals between neurons.

Central Nervous System

• The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• Gray matter comprises cell bodies of neurons.

Peripheral Nervous System

• The peripheral nervous system provides pathways to and from the central nervous system.
• The spinal cord links with the peripheral nervous system through spinal nerves.

Autonomic Nervous System

• The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary functions of the internal organs.
• The parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system keeps you breathing while sleeping.

Reflexes

• Reflexes are sudden, involuntary movements not under conscious control and not learned in response to a stimulus.

Neuron Structure

• Dendrites extend from a neuron and receive information from other cells.
• Nodes of Ranvier are gaps in the myelin sheath that allow nerve impulses to jump between them, increasing the speed of transmission.
• Myelin sheath insulates axons, like a layer of insulation around a wire.

Nerve Impulses

• Myelinated axons transmit nerve impulses faster than unmyelinated axons.
• At rest, a neuron has more sodium ions outside the cell than inside.
• The sodium-potassium pump helps restore the resting potential after an action potential.
• When a neuron is at rest, the outside of the cell is negatively charged.
• A nerve impulse is the movement of an action potential along an axon.
• During an impulse, a small part of the axon momentarily reverses its polarity.
• Neurotransmitters are released at synapses and are chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synaptic cleft.

Test your knowledge of the central and peripheral nervous systems, including their structures and functions. This quiz covers key concepts like neurons, reflexes, and the autonomic nervous system. Perfect for students studying neuroscience or biology.