Nervous System Worksheet 1
1. The three basic functions of the nervous system are: ____sensory input____________,
___integration____________, and _____motor output_________.
2. The nervous system has two major parts:
• The ______central__________ nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cords.
• The ______peripheral_______ nervous system contains all of the nerves that branch off
from the brain and spine.
3. The peripheral nervous system also has two parts:
• The ____sensory______ division picks up sensory stimuli.
• The ____motor_______ division sends directions from the brain to the muscles and
glands.
4. The motor division is further broken down into:
• The ___somatic________ nervous system which controls your skeletal muscles.
• The ___autonomic______ nervous system which controls your involuntary functions
(heartbeat, breathing, etc.).
5. The autonomic system is broken down further still:
• The ___sympathetic___________ division mobilizes the body into action.
• The ___parasympathetic_______ division calms the body down.
6. Neurons are the ___longest__________ lived cells in your body and __cannot______ be
replaced.
7. All neurons have the same basic structure: __cell body__________, ___dendrites________,
and ___axons_________.
8. ___Sensory_________ neurons carry messages from sensory receptors and sends them to
the central nervous system.
9. ___Motor___________ neurons carry messages away from the central nervous system and
out to the rest of the body.
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10. ___Interneurons____ transmit messages between the central and peripheral nervous
systems.
11. When a neuron is stimulated enough, it fires an ___electrical___________ impulse down its
axon to its neighboring neurons.
12. A resting neuron has more negative charges on the ___inside____________ of it than in the
extracellular space around it.
13. Neurons have a resting membrane potential because outside there are a bunch of positively
charged ___sodium________________ ions. Inside there are positively charge
___potassium___________ ions, but also bigger, negatively charge proteins. Since there are
more positive charges inside than outside, the neuron is negatively charged, or
____polarized____________. This is all orchestrated by the sodium-potassium pump.
14. When an axon is in the middle of an action potential, it can’t respond to any other stimulus,
no matter how strong. This is called the ___refractory period___________________.
15. The strength of an action potential is always the same. What does change is the
___frequency_________.
16. The ____synapse_____________ is the meeting point between two neurons.
17. There are somewhere around __1000 trillion______________ synapses in your brain.
18. Your nerve cells have two main settings for communicating: ___electrical____________
(immediate) and ____chemical_____________________ (take more time to be read).
19. Electrical synapses send an ion current directly from one neuron to another through
____gap junctions_____. The signal is never converted into another form.
20. Chemical synapses are slower and more abundant. They use neurotransmitters that diffuse
across synaptic gaps. They can ___convert_______________ the signal, allowing for ways
to control it.
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