Neural & Hormonal Processes

The basic building block of the nervous system; responsible for receiving, processing, and transmitting electrochemical information.

• Synapse
• Neuron
• Glial cell
• Dendrite

The cells that provide structural, nutritional, and other functions for neurons.

• Neurons
• Epithelial cells
• Glial cells
• Muscle cells

The branching fibers of neurons that receive neural impulses from other neurons and convey impulses toward the cell body.

• Axons
• Synapses
• Dendrites
• Neurotransmitters

The part of a neuron that contains the cell nucleus and other structures that help the neuron carry out its functions.

• Synapse
• Dendrite
• Axon
• Cell body (soma)

A long, tube-like structure that conveys impulses away from a neuron's cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands.

• neurotransmitter
• soma
• dendrite
• axon

The layer of fatty insulation wrapped around the axons of some neurons that increases the rate at which neural impulses travel along the axon.

• neurotransmitter
• axon terminal
• myelin sheath

• dendrite

A neural impulse, or brief electrical charge, that carries information along the axon of a neuron; movement is generated when positively charged ions move in and out through channels in the axon's membrane.

• Action potential

• Neural signal
• Electrical impulse
• Axon charge

The principle that a neuron's response to a stimulus is either to fire with full-strength response or not to fire at all.

• All-or-nothing principle
• Continuous firing model
• Threshold response theory
• Partial response principle

The gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite and/or cell body of the receiving neuron.

• neurotransmitter
• synapse
• dendrite
• axon

A chemical messenger released by neurons that travel across the synapse and allows neurons to communicate with one another.

• enzyme
• hormone
• antibody
• neurotransmitter