Acetylcholine: is a chemical substance or neurotransmitter found in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.

It plays an important role in learning and memory and in sending messages from motor nerves to muscles, especially in the heart, bladder and stomach. It also affects glands. Patients with Alzheimer's disease have a deficiency of acetylcholine in their brains. Action potential: a brief electrical impulse that sends a signal along the axon of a neuron, results in intercellular communication Amygdala: part of the forebrain of vertebrates that is involved in the production of appropriate behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. It thought to play a role in integrating emotional content into cognition and behavior. Association neuron: A neuron, usually within the central nervous system, between sensory and motor neurons. Autonomic nervous system: the part of the peripheral nervous system of vertebrates that synapses on glands, internal organs, and smooth muscles and also produces largely involuntary responses. Axon: a long extension of a nerve cell, extending from the cell body to synaptic endings on other nerve cells or on muscles. Brain: the part of the central nervous system of vertebrates that is enclosed within the skull. Cell body: the part of the nerve cell in which most of the common cellular organelles are located. Central nervous system: in vertebrates, the brain and spinal cord. Cerebellum: the part of the hindbrain that is concerned with coordinating movements of the body. Cerebral cortex: a thin layer of neurons on the surface of the vertebrate cerebrum, in which most neural processing and coordination of activity occurs. Cerebral hemisphere: one of the two nearly symmetrical halves of the cerebrum, connected by broad band of axons, the corpus callosum. Cerebrospinal fluid: (CSF) A watery fluid, continuously produced and absorbed, which flows in the ventricles (cavities) within the brain and around the surface of the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is produced by the choroid plexus, a series of infolded blood vessels projecting into the cerebral ventricles, and it is absorbed into the venous system.

Cerebrum: The most developed area of the brain and responsible for higher mental capabilities. Convolutions: a folding of the cerebral cortex of the vertebrate brain. Corpus callosum: A broad sheet of white matter. The band of axons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres of vertebrates. Dendrite: a branched tendril that extends outward from the cell body of the neuron; specialized to respond to signals from the external environment or from other neurons. Divergence: The spreading of branches of the neuron to form synapses with several other neurons. Dopamine: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them. Dopamine deficiency results in Parkinson's Disease, and people with low dopamine activity may be more prone to addiction. The presence of a certain kind of dopamine receptor is also associated with sensation-seeking. Dorsal root ganglion: a ganglion, located on the dorsal (sensory) branch of each spinal nerve that contains the cell bodies of sensory neurons. Effector: a part of the body (normally a muscle or gland) that carries out responses as directed by the nervous system. Endorphin: Endorphins are a group of neurotransmitters formed within the body that bind to opiate receptor sites in your brain to naturally relieve pain. The biochemicals acetylcholine and dopamine are known as endorphins, and have a similar chemical structure to morphine. They are also known to lower stress and boost confidence. Excitatory synapse: A synapse in which the nerve impulse in a presynaptic cell tend to increase the probability of the postsynaptic cell to fire an action potential. Forebrain: It contains the olfactory lobe and the cerebrum, which function in the sense of smell; the cerebrum is also responsible for memory and intelligence. In animals in which the cerebrum is less developed, the cerebrums main function is olfactory. In animals with a highly developed, complex cerebrum, the areas involved on thought and reasoning are more evolved. Ganglion: a cluster or neurons. Gray matter: the outer portion of the brain and inner region of the spinal cord; composed largely of neuron cell bodies, which give this area a gray color.

Hindbrain: The cerebellum is located here. It is responsible for the coordination of complex muscular movement. A well-developed cerebellum is associated with agility. Hippocampus: the part of the forebrain of vertebrates that is important in emotion and especially learning. Hypothalamus: a region of the brain that controls the secretory activity of the pituitary gland; synthesizes, stores, and release certain peptide hormones; directs autonomic nervous responses. Inhibitory synapse: A synapse in which the nerve impulse in a presynaptic cell results in a reduced likelihood for a postsynaptic cell to fire an action potential. Limbic system: a diverse group of brain structures, mostly in the lower forebrain, that includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and parts of the cerebrum and is involved in basic emotions, drives, behaviors, and learning. Medulla: The most posterior portion of the brain stem. It controls automatic activities such as breathing, swallowing, heart rate, and blood pressure. Meninges: layers of the brain. Midbrain: during development, the central portion of the brain; contains an important relay center, the reticular formation. Motor neuron: a neuron that receives instructions from sensory neurons or interneurons and activates effector organs, such as muscles or glands. Myelin: a wrapping of insulating membranes of specialized nonneural cells around the axon of vertebrate nerve cell; increases the speed of conduction of action potentials. Nerve: a bundle of axons of nerve cells, bound together in a sheath. Nerve net: a simple form of nervous system, consisting of a network of neurons hat extends throughout the tissues of an organism such as a cnidarian.

Neuron: a cell that is the functional unit of the nervous system, consisting of the cell body and its processes, the axon and dendrites.

Neurotransmitter: a chemical by which a nerve cell communicates with another nerve cell or with a muscle. Acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin are examples of neurotransmitters. Node of Ranvier: any of the gaps that occur at regular intervals along the length of the myelin sheath nerve fibre, at which the axon is exposed Norepinephrine- both a hormone and neurotransmitter, secreted by the adrenal medulla and the nerve endings of the sympathetic nervous system to cause vasoconstriction and increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and the sugar level of the blood. Parasympathetic nervous system: The part of the autonomic nervous system that tends to act in opposition to the sympathetic nervous system, as by slowing down the heartbeat and dilating the blood vessels. It regulates the function of many glands, such as those that produce tears and saliva, and stimulates motility and secretions of the digestive system. Peripheral nervous system: That portion of the nervous system that is outside the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of the two major divisions of the nervous system. The other is the central nervous system (CNS) that is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The nerves in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) connect the central nervous system (CNS) to sensory organs (such as the eye and ear), other organs of the body, muscles, blood vessels and glands."Peripheral" in anatomy and medicine (as elsewhere) is the opposite of "central." It means situated away from the center. The word "peripheral" comes from the Greek

"peripheria" ("peri-", around or about) Pons: A band of nerve fibers on the ventral surface of the brain stem that links the medulla oblongata and the cerebellum with upper portions of the brain.

Postsynaptic neuron: a neuron to the cell body or dendrite of which an electrical impulse is transmitted across a synaptic cleft by the release of a chemical neurotransmitter from the axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron. Postsynaptic potential: A change in the membrane potential of the postsynaptic cell caused by the action of neurotransmitters released by the presynaptic cell. A postsynaptic potential is a graded potential whose function is to determine if the action potential is initiated or inhibited. Thus, a postsynaptic potential may be an inhibitory postsynaptic potential or excitatory postsynaptic potential. Potassium channel: Potassium channels are designed to allow the flow of potassium ions across the membrane, but to block the flow of other ions--in particular, sodium ions. These channels are typically composed of two parts:

the filter, which selects and allows potassium but not sodium to pass, and the gate, which opens and closes the channel based on environmental signals. Presynaptic neuron: a neuron from the axon terminal of which an electrical impulse is transmitted across a synaptic cleft to the cell body or one or more dendrites of a postsynaptic neuron by the release of a chemical neurotransmitter. Resting potential: The negative charge that exists intracellular when a neuron is just hanging out, and not electrically active -Also, the resting potential exists when the cell is not electrically active, but that doesn't mean that the cell isn't doing anything. It might be making proteins, undergoing cellular respiration, etc. -All cells, not just neurons, have a resting potential. But in neurons it is very important to understand the resting potential, since all electrical activity will be making changes from this resting potential. Reticular formation: part of the brain involved in actions such as awaking/sleeping cycle, and filtering incoming stimuli to discriminate irrelevant background stimuli. Salutatory conduction: the propagation of action potentials along myelinated axons from one node of Ranvier to the next node, increasing the conduction velocity of action potentials without needing to increase the diameter of an axon. Sensory neuron: nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal electrical impulses. Serotonin: hormone found in the pineal gland, blood platelets, the digestive tract, and the brain. Act both as a chemical messenger that transmits nerve signals between nerve cells and that causes blood vessels to narrow. Sodium channel: structure that permits controlled (gated) passage of sodium ions through membranes.

Sodium-potassium pump: The enzyme-based mechanism that maintains

correct cellular concentrations of sodium and potassium ions by removing excess ions from inside a cell and replacing them with ions from outside the cell.

Somatic nervous system : part of the NS that controls voluntary movements in the body, such as those performed by the skeletal muscles. The somatic nervous system also includes special nerve fibers that help keep the body in touch with its surroundings, such as those involved in touch, hearing, and sight. Spinal cord: column of nerve tissue connected to the brain and lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system (CNS). Spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain. Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges. The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Sympathetic nervous system: (SNS) is part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which also includes the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The sympathetic nervous system activates what is often termed the
fight or flight response. Like other parts of the nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system operates through a series of interconnected neurons.

Synapse: point of impulse transmission between neurons; impulses are transmitted from pre-synaptic neurons to post-synaptic neurons Synapses usually occur between the axon of a pre-synaptic neuron & a dendrite or cell body of a post-synaptic neuron. At a synapse, the end of the axon is 'swollen' and referred to as an end bulb or synaptic knob. Within the end bulb are found lots of synaptic vesicles (which contain neurotransmitter chemicals) and mitochondria (which provide ATP to make more neurotransmitter). Between the end bulb and the dendrite (or cell body) of the post-synaptic neuron, there is a gap commonly referred to as the synaptic cleft. So, pre- and post-synaptic membranes do not actually come in contact. That means that the impulse cannot be transmitted directly. Rather, the impulse is transmitted by the release of chemicals called chemical transmitters (or neurotransmitters).

Synaptic cleft: The minute gap between presynaptic cell and postsynaptic cell in a chemical synapse, across which the neurotransmitters diffuse into. - This gap acts as a site where neurotransmitters from presynaptic cell (e.g. neuron) are released into by exocytosis and diffuses across to bind with the receptors in the cell membrane of postsynaptic cell. This gap is only a minute space allowing the concentration of neurotransmitters to be raised and lowered rapidly. Synaptic terminal: A bulb at the end of an axon in which neurotransmitter molecules are stored and released. Temporal lobe: The temporal lobes are one of the four main lobes or regions of the cerebral cortex. Structures of the limbic system, including the olfactory cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus are located within the temporal lobes. The temporal lobes play an important role in organizing sensory input, auditory perception, language and speech production, as well as memory association and formation.

Thalamus: mass of nerve cells centrally located in the brain just below the cerebrum and resembling a large egg in size and shape. The thalamus is a routing station for all incoming sensory impulses except those of smell, transmitting them to higher (cerebral) nerve centers. It connects various brain centers with others. Thus the thalamus is a major integrative complex, enabling sensory stimuli to evoke appropriate physical reactions as well as to affect emotions. With the hypothalamus, the thalamus establishes levels of

sleep and wakefulness. It is also vital to the neural feedback system controlling brain wave rhythms.

Threshold: the point at which increasing stimuli trigger the start of an

afferent nerve impulse. Absolute threshold is the lowest point at which response to a stimulus can be perceived.

White/Grey matter: The White Matter refers to those parts of the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for communication between the various grey matter regions and between the grey matter and the rest of the body. In essence, the grey matter is where the processing is done and the white matter is the channels of communication. -By analogy, the grey matter is like the CPU in a computer and the white matter is like the printed circuit board that connects it to the other parts of the computer. -The white matter is so-called because it contains lots of nerve fibers (neurons) that are sheathed in a white fatty insulating protein called myelin. In section, myelin is white whereas the grey matter is grey due to all the grey nuclei in the cells that make it up. -The white matter is found in the inner layer of the cortex, the optic nerves, the central and lower areas of the brain (notably the Brainstem) and surrounding the central shaft of grey matter in the spinal cord.