Neuron Structure and Glial Cells Quiz

Neuron Structure and Function

• Dendrites in a neuron receive signals from other neurons.
• The cell body of a neuron, also known as the soma, decides whether to generate a neural impulse.
• Axons in a neuron carry neural impulses away from the cell body to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

Glial Cells

• Glial cells provide support, protection, and maintenance functions for neurons in the nervous system.

Neural Communication

• Communication between neurons occurs through the transmission of neural impulses from one neuron to another.
• Excitatory inputs in a neuron stimulate the neuron to generate an impulse.
• The myelin sheath, a fatty insulating layer, increases the speed of neural impulses by reducing the time it takes for the impulse to jump between the gaps in the myelin sheath.

Synapse and Neurotransmitters

• In the synaptic gap (synapse) between neurons, chemical signals (neurotransmitters) are released by the terminal end of one neuron and bind to receptors on the dendrites of another neuron.
• Neurotransmitters facilitate neural communication by transmitting signals between neurons.

Brain Function and Structure

• The primary function of neurons in the nervous system is to transmit and process information.
• The fusiform face area is located in the temporal lobe of the brain and is responsible for face recognition.
• The right hemisphere of the brain is primarily involved in processing faces.
• Broca's area is typically located in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere of the brain and is responsible for language processing.

Brain Imaging and Split-Brain Patients

• Brain scans like PET (positron emission tomography) and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) are different in that PET scans measure glucose metabolism, while fMRI scans measure changes in blood oxygen levels.
• When split-brain patients are presented with information briefly in one visual field, the information is only processed in the opposite hemisphere of the brain.