Chapter 18
Nervous System
The nervous system is the collection of specialized cells responsible for maintaining an organism’s internal environment and coordinating the…
The parasympathetic nervous system is one of the two major divisions of the autonomic nervous system. This parasympathetic system is responsible…
The sympathetic nervous system—one of the two major divisions of the autonomic nervous system—is activated in times of stress. It…
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) refers to the specialized vasculature that provides the brain with nutrients in the blood while strictly regulating…
Neurons are the main type of cell in the nervous system that generate and transmit electrochemical signals. They primarily communicate with each…
Neurons communicate with one another by passing on their electrical signals to other neurons. A synapse is the location where two neurons meet to…
Glial cells are one of the two main types of cells in the nervous system. Glia cells comprise astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and…
The relative difference in electrical charge, or voltage, between the inside and the outside of a cell membrane, is called the membrane potential.…
Neurons communicate by firing action potentials—the electrochemical signal that is propagated along the axon. The signal results in the…
Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in…
Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in…
The enteric nervous system is formed by neural crest cells that proliferate, migrate and colonize the gut. Following colonization, neural crest cells…
Neurotrauma and neurodegenerative disease often result in lasting neurological deficits due to the limited capacity of the central nervous system…
The regrowth capacity of damaged neurons governs neuroregeneration and functional recovery after nervous system trauma. Over the past few decades,…
