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*The answers to the questions in this
powerpoint should be in your notes.
Think back to the PET scans viewed in activity 2 of lesson 1. Different areas
showed up as red or yellow in response to a stimulus.
What composes those regions of the brain? (Why did those areas show up as red
or yellow?)
Answer on the next page.
The basic functional unit of the brain and the nervous system is the NEURON.
Write down the different parts of the neuron and and their functions.
The answer SHOULD be in your notes.
Look at the top part of the handout. See that the axon terminals (the end points of the
axon) end near the dendrites of another neuron.
The connection between the two neurons is called the synapse. The space itself is
called the synaptic space/cleft.
Presynaptic- neuron whose axon forms a synapse with another
neuron, sends out information
Postsynaptic- neuron whose dendrites forms a synapse with
the axon of the presynaptic neuron, receives information
There is no physical structure connecting the two neurons.
Look at the parts of the brain’s reward system.
The neurons affected by drugs introduced to the body are in
the ventral tegmental area (VTA).
Those cells extend their axons to nerve cells in an area of the brain called the
nucleus accumbens.
Some nerve fibers extend to part of the frontal region of the cerebral cortex.
How Do Neurons Communicate?
Axon- large part of the neuron, and sends information through the axon
terminals to the synapse
This is where the presynapse is found.
Dendrite- branches from the cell body, receives information from the synapse
This is where the
postsynapse is found.
1.
2.
3.
What purpose do synapses serve?
The brain regulates body functions, behaviors, and emotions. Neurons are the cells
that fulfill these functions. How do neurons do this?
Refer to handout, Master 2.3 How Do Neurons Communicate? Discuss with a
partner about the diagrams, and then write a summary of how you think the neurons
are interacting at each step.
a. You
may not know all of the terms that might be needed for
the summary, but you can use any terms you think would
work.
1.
2.
3.
Synapses serve to connect neurons, enabling neurons to communicate by
passing signals between them.
Neurons control these functions by passing signals across the synapse from one
neuron to the next. These signals dictate whether the receiving neuron is
activated.
The summaries of the diagrams should be descriptive of the images.
https://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih2/Addiction/activities/lesson2_n
eurotransmission.html
Click on the youtube link.
Neurotransmission
At this point, please go back
to your diagram summaries
and revise them. You should
be able to use correct
terminology and have a better
understanding of what is
going on.
1. This diagram shows the component parts of
the neurotransmission process between
electrical impulses.
4. The neurotransmitter is in the synaptic
cleft and binds to the receptor on the postsynaptic
neuron’s membrane.
2. An electrical impulse travels down the axon
toward the presynaptic nerve terminals.
5. Neurotransmitter molecules are still bound
to the receptors, and an electrical signal passes
along the postsynaptic neuron away from the
synapse.
3. The vesicles containing neurotransmitter
move toward the neuron cell membrane at
the end of the axon. The vesicles fuse to the
membrane and then release their contents
(neurotransmitter molecules) into the
synaptic cleft.
6. Neurotransmitter molecules are released
from the receptors. Neurotransmitter molecules
are taken back up into the presynaptic neuron
through the transporter. Once inside the
presynaptic terminal, the neurotransmitter
molecules are repackaged into vesicles.
Unit IV, Lesson II,
Activities I and II
End