What are the parts of the neuron? (Hint: what are the cell body, the dendrite, the axon, & the terminal branches?)
What are a synapse and a neurotransmitter? Can you describe the influence of dopamine and serotonin?
What is the action potential?
What happens during reuptake?
What are the 2 main divisions of the nervous system?
What is the central nervous system composed of? What are the parts of the peripheral nervous system?
What does the somatic nervous system control? The sympathetic? The parasympathetic?
What is a spinal reflex? What happens to people when they have spinal cord injuries?
What are the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain? Know the major functions of each.
What is the endocrine system? Why is the pituitary gland known as the “master gland”? What does it control?
How would you describe the physical attributes of the cerebral cortex? What is its structure?
What are the two hemispheres? You should know three specializations per hemisphere.
What are the 4 lobes of the cortex? Know one or two special functions per lobe.
What is the corpus callosum? What happens in split-brain patients?
What is plasticity? What is pruning? Be able to give/recognize examples of each.
What is a gene? How many do humans have? What are chromosomes? How many do humans have? How did the human brain evolve as it did?
Think of yourself doing an activity such as riding a bike or playing an instrument. What would happen in the different parts of your nervous system and brain (listed below) during this activity? (Be able to understand each item’s special role/functions and how they would apply in any given scenario.)
- Somatic nervous system
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- Hindbrain
- Midbrain
- Hippocampus
- Thalamus
- Corpus callosum
- Frontal lobe of cerebral cortex
- Parietal lobe of cerebral cortex
- Occipital lobe of cerebral cortex
- Temporal lobe of cerebral cortex
- Right hemisphere
- Left hemisphere