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I hope you had a
good weekend filled
with fun safe
activities. ( and with
plenty of frontal lobe
function keeping you
from getting yourself
killed!  )
Our brains are incredible machines. We have a lot to learn about this
squishy thing in our head that is somehow responsible for love, misery,
death, and happiness!
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Class Agenda:
 Class Points + Doctor’s Tournament:
Results of Last Semester and Restarting
for this semester!
 Nervous System: Microanatomy
▪ How do neurons communicate?
▪ How do neurons communicate with muscles?
▪ Why do we care about any of this?
 Finish any presentations that we
haven’t finished yet
 Neuro Quiz #1 will be back soon,
grading now!
Remember, the Doctor’s tournament is to keep everyone
focused on getting the best educational experience possible.
All of this, we do to help you become productive, critically
thinking citizens. If you ever have questions about why we learn
stuff, please talk to me after class or after school, I’d be happy to
help.
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It took me a bit to compile all the test scores and Doctor’s Tournament Class Points
Results, but here they are! (scores from the final two exams were factored in as
well as behavior/attendance during the final weeks)
117

In 5th place….Period 3:

In 4th place….Period 5: 120
Prize: 3% point ex.cr on last quiz!

Tied for 3rd/2nd place….Period 6: 126
Prize: 5% point ex. cr on last quiz!

Tied for 3rd/2nd place….Period 7:
Prize: 5% point ex. cr on last quiz!
 And the winner is…
Prize: 2 % ex.cr on last quiz!
126
Period 1: 130
Prize: 7% point ex. cr on quiz! (snacks
this Friday! )

All the classes are competing for a pizza party
on Mr. Ward at the end of the year after
finals. Period 1 is in the lead currently, but
nobody is very far behind. Who will it be?!!
It’s time to learn about how neurons
actually work. And it explains a whole
lot of our lives.
Remember:

Macroscopic

Microscopic:
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Catalyst:
 Step 1: Watch the following video and attempt to
figure out what the 3d animation is showing.
 Step 2: Identify any structures/pieces of our body
that you recognize from the last couple weeks.
 Step 3: Write 3-5 sentences describing what you
see in the animation and how you think this
relates to neuron communication.
Axon Terminal
Synapse
1.
3.
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1. Axon Terminal (PRE-Synaptic)
2. Dendrite or Neuron Cell Body (POST-Synaptic)
3. Synapse/Synaptic Cleft
4. Vesicles (bubbles carrying neurotransmitters)
5. Neurotransmitters
6. Receptors (docking points for N.T. on postsynapse)

…but what does he have to do with neurons?!


What if a neuron wants to talk to a muscle or
some other type of cell? What then?!
You have a very similar type of junction, but
instead of a neuron dendrite or cell body in
the post-synapse, you have a muscle cell!

The Action Potential:
 The action potential is another name for an
electrical impulse, or a signal sent along a neuron.
 If you move your finger, action potentials from
your pre-motor cortex in your brain travel all the
way down to your finger and trigger the NMJ
(neuromuscular junction) to shock your muscles
so they contract.
1.
2.
Each individual
neuron must
initiate an action
potential
Adjacent
neurons must
receive electrical
impulse.
1. The plasma membrane of a resting neuron is
polarized. (Inside of the cell is more negative
than outside). Na+ ions are located on the outside
while K+ are located on the inside.
THIS IS PART OF AN
AXON
2. DepolarizationSodium ions (Na+)
rush into the cell
and create an
action potential
(nerve impulse)
*When a neuron is
stimulated it causes
the cell to become
depolarized
3. An action potential
is created- travels the
length of the neuron.
 All or none
principle- nerve
impulse is either
propagated over
entire axon or not at
all.
ACTION POTENTIAL
4. Repolarization:
neuron goes back to
original state.
BACK TO NORMAL!