AP Biology Study Guide
The Nervous System
Nervous System Structure and Function
1. Describe the structural and functional subdivisions of the nervous system. Describe the three parts of a reflex, distinguishing the three types of neurons involved in the reaction.
2. Describe the structures and functions of neurons and myelin sheaths.
Nerve Signals and Their Transmission
3. Define a resting potential and explain how it is created.
4. Explain how an action potential is produced and the resting membrane potential restored.
5. Explain (a) how an action potential propagates itself along a neuron, (b) why action potentials move in only one direction, and (c) how action potentials relay different intensities of information.
6. Compare the structures, functions, and locations of electrical and chemical synapses.
7. Compare excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. Explain how the number and location of bound neurotransmitters influence a receiving cell.
8. Describe the types and functions of neurotransmitters known in humans.
9. Explain how drugs can alter chemical synapses.
An Overview of Animal Nervous Systems
10. Describe three evolutionary advantages to the human nervous system.
11. Describe the diversity of animal nervous systems and provide examples. Explain how the structure of the nervous system relates to the ways animals interact with their environment.
12. Describe the general structure of the brain, spinal cord, and associated nerves of vertebrates. Describe the formation, location, and functions of cerebrospinal fluid.
13. Compare the functions of the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.
14. Compare the structures, functions, and interrelationships of the parasympathetic, sympathetic, and enteric divisions of the peripheral nervous system.
15. Describe the relationship between neurotransmitters and your body’s function
The Human Brain
16. Describe the parts and functions of the human brain. Detail the structures and functions of the cerebral cortex.
17. Explain how injuries, illness, and surgery provide insight into the functions of the brain.
18. Describe the causes, symptoms, and treatments of schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
The Big Picture
19. What is the overall flow of information from stimlus to response?
20. How is the synpase an evolutionary adapatation?
21. What is the purpose of the myelin sheath and what happens if it is degraded?
22. What is the evolutionary advantage of a reflex arc?
23. If sodium dissapears from the cell, what happens to the action potential?
24. If potassium dissapears from the cell, what happens to the action potential?
25. If calcium disapears from the cell what happens in the synpase?
26. If calcium disapears from the cell what happens to muscle contraction?
27. What is an action potential? (seriously, like what is it?)
28. How does the nervous system relate to the muscular system?
29. How does the nervous system relate to our sense (eyes and ears specifically)
Key Terms
acetylcholine
action potential
Alzheimer’s disease(AD)
autonomic nervoussystem
axon
brain
brainstem
cell body
cephalization
central nervous system(CNS)
cerebellum
cerebral cortex
cerebral hemisphere
cerebrospinal fluid
cerebrum
circadian rhythm
corpus callosum
cranial nerve
dendrite
effector cell
forebrain
ganglion (plural, ganglia)
glia
gray matter
hindbrain
hippocampus
integration
interneuron
lateralization
limbic system
medulla oblongata
membrane potential
meninges
midbrain
motor neuron
motor output
myelin sheath
nerve
nervous system
neuron
neurotransmitter
node of Ranvier
parasympathetic division
Parkinson’s disease
peripheral nervous system(PNS)
reflex
resting potential
schizophrenia
sensory input
sensory neuron
short-term memory
sodium-potassium(Na-K) pump
somatic nervous system
spinal cord
stimulus
sympathetic division
synapse
synaptic cleft
synaptic terminal
synaptic vesicle
thalamus
threshold
ventricle
white matter
inhibitory
excitatory
reflex arc
receptor
vesicle
ion gated channel
myosin
actin