Exam 4: The Nervous System

MRI and PET are two types of neurotransmitter chemicals.

Describe the structure of a neuron.

Which part of the human neuron can be described as long, slender, and responsible for conducting the electrical signal?

For a drug to be psychoactive its molecules must be capable of doing what?

What have weight control, aggression, impulsivity, and psychological depression all been associated with?

What are the natural chemicals in the brain that produce effects similar to those of opium-derived drugs called?

Which term describes a substance that prevents the effects of a neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell?

What is the brain imaging technique described in the book that can study where specific chemicals are binding in living humans called?

What is the process called in which enzymes within neurons convert precursors into neurotransmitter molecules?

Describe endorphins.

Which chemical pathway appears to be important in some types of psychotic behaviour, and in the reinforcing properties of various drugs?

Information is carried down the axon by ion channels that are responsible for the electrical signal known as an action potential.

Describe the differing effects of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.

Which term describes chemicals that are acted on by enzymes to form neurotransmitters?

What is the function of the blood-brain barrier?

What is homeostasis?

Unlike neurons, glial cells in the brain are purely for support and are incapable of communicating with each other.

Describe the Basal Ganglia and what it does?

Scientists at the University of British Columbia reported that an alcohol extract from the plant "Rhodiola rosea" could assist with which of the following?

How many types of glia cells exist, and what is their overall function?