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AP Biology Study Guide
Chapter 28: The Nervous System
Opening Essay
1. Explain how spinal cords may be injured and the current medical approaches to repairing the damage.
Nervous System Structure and Function
2. 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.
3. Describe the structures and functions of neurons and myelin sheaths.
Nerve Signals and Their Transmission
4. Define a resting potential and explain how it is created.
5. Explain how an action potential is produced and the resting membrane potential restored.
6. 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.
7. Compare the structures, functions, and locations of electrical and chemical synapses.
8. Compare excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. Explain how the number and location of bound
neurotransmitters influence a receiving cell.
9. Describe the types and functions of neurotransmitters known in humans.
10. Explain how drugs can alter chemical synapses.
An Overview of Animal Nervous Systems
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. Explain how the vertebrate brain develops from an embryonic tube.
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. Explain how fMRI scans help us understand brain functions.
19. Explain how the brain regulates sleep and arousal.
20. Describe the structure and functions of the limbic system. Describe the properties of short-term, long-term, and
skill memories.
21. Describe the causes, symptoms, and treatments of schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and
Parkinson’s disease.
C. Gay 2/4/09
Steamboat Springs High School AP Biology
Key Terms
acetylcholine
action potential
Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
amygdale
autonomic nervous system
axon
basal nuclei
biogenic amine
biological clock
bipolar disorder
blood-brain barrier
brain
brainstem
cell body
cephalization
central canal
central nervous system (CNS)
centralization
cerebellum
cerebral cortex
cerebral hemisphere
cerebrospinal fluid
cerebrum
circadian rhythm
corpus callosum
cranial nerve
dendrite
effector cell
enteric division
forebrain
ganglion (plural, ganglia)
glia
gray matter
hindbrain
hippocampus
integration
interneuron
lateralization
limbic system
long-term memory
major depression
C. Gay 2/4/09
medulla oblongata
membrane potential
memory
meninges
midbrain
motor neuron
motor output
myelin sheath
nerve
nerve cord
nerve net
nervous system
neuron
neurotransmitter
node of Ranvier
parasympathetic division
Parkinson’s disease
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
pons
reflex
resting potential
schizophrenia
sensory input
sensory neuron
short-term memory
sodium-potassium (Na-K) pump
somatic nervous system
spinal cord
spinal nerve
stimulus (plural, stimuli)
sympathetic division
synapse
synaptic cleft
synaptic terminal
synaptic vesicle
thalamus
threshold
ventricle
white matter
Steamboat Springs High School AP Biology