Nervous System

Communication between different parts of the

body and the environment.
Vocabulary
 Neuron  Resting potential
 Cell body  Action potential
 Dendrite  Threshold
 Axon  Synapse
 Myelin sheath  neurotransmitter
Neurons: Cells of the nervous
system
Parts of a neuron
 Cell body
 Nucleus
 Dendrites
 Axon
 Myelin sheath
 Axon terminals
 nodes
Functions of the nervous
system
 Senses changes both inside and outside
the body: (the _______ function).
 Interprets and explains the changes (the
________ function).
 Responds by making muscles interact and
glands secrete hormones or other
chemicals into the bloodstream (the
______ function).
Two main parts of the nervous
system
 Central Nervous  Peripheral Nervous
system system
 Brain  Motor nerves
 Spinal Cord  Sensory nerves
Synapse
 At the end of an
axon is the
_________.
 ________are
emptied into the
space called the
synapse.
 This space is
called
the________.
Brain: Cerebral hemispheres
Reflex Arcs
 Automatic response to
stimulus.
Autonomic nervous system
 Sympathetic  Parasympathetic
 Fight of flight responses -“housekeeper”
 Increase in heart rate -opposite effects of the
 Increase in breathing sympathetic system.
 Shut down of digestion
 Shunting of blood to
heart
 Pupillary
reflexes:_________ of
pupil
Online resources
 NSTA nervous system link
 Oxford Neurology journal
Diseases of the Nervous
system
 National Parkinson Foundation
 Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year,
joining the 1.5 million Americans who currently
have Parkinson's disease.
 While the condition usually develops after the
age of 65, 15% of those diagnosed are under
50.
Alzheimer’s Disease
 Alzheimer’s Association
 Is a progressive and fatal brain
disease. As many as 5 million Americans are
living with Alzheimer’s
 Is the most common form of dementia
 Has no current cure

Tour of the Brain & How Alzheimer’s Affects it

Animation of Alzheimer’s
Multiple Sclerosis
 National MS Society
 Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs,
or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision.
 The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are
unpredictable and vary from one person to another
 The body’s own defense system attacks myelin, the
fatty substance that surrounds and protects the nerve
fibers in the central nervous system. The nerve fibers
themselves can also be damaged. The damaged myelin
forms scar tissue (sclerosis), which gives the disease its
name.