WebQuest: The Structure of the Nervous System



WebQuest: The Structure of the Nervous System

Written by BrainU participant, Kevin Molohon

Champlin Park High School, Anoka-Hennepin School District

The nervous system consists of three parts: the Brain, the Central Nervous System, and the Peripheral Nervous System. The Brain is the command center, the Central Nervous System is the brain and the spinal cord, and the Peripheral Nervous System consists of the nerves going from the spinal cord out to your body.

Draw and label each of these parts on the diagram below:

[pic]

The Brain

Go to the following web site and follow the instructions below:



Part One: The Cerebrum

The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.

1. On the diagram below, label the four lobes of the cerebrum.

[pic]

2. List the function of each of the lobes of the cerebrum.

Frontal Lobe: ____________________________________________________________

Parietal Lobe: ____________________________________________________________

Occipital Lobe: ___________________________________________________________

Temporal Lobe: __________________________________________________________

3. Label the cerebellum on the diagram above.

4. What does the cerebellum do? _____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. The limbic system is often referred to as the ____________ brain.

6. Where is the limbic system found? _________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

7. List the function of each of the parts of the limbic system:

Thalamus: _______________________________________________________________

Hypothalamus: ___________________________________________________________

Amygdala: ______________________________________________________________

Hippocampus: ___________________________________________________________

8. Label the Brain Stem on the diagram above.

9. What does the Brain Stem do? _____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

10. List the function of each of the parts of the Brain Stem:

Midbrain: _______________________________________________________________

Pons: ___________________________________________________________________

Medulla: ________________________________________________________________

The Synapse

In this section we will focus on the synapse. As you will recall, the synapse is the space between the axon terminal of on neuron and the dendrites of another. It is important to remember that the two neurons aren’t touching; they are just really close to each other.

Go to the following web site and answer the questions below:



11. Neurotransmission occurs between the ______ __________ of one neuron and the ___________ of another.

12. At the synapse, information is transmitted from one neuron to another via what kind of messengers? ______________________________________________________

13. An action potential is an ____________ signal.

14. Why are chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters, needed to get information across the synapse? _________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

15. What are ions? ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

16. Why are ions important for neurotransmission? ______________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

17. What are the 4 most common ions?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

18. How do ions get across the neuron membrane? _______________________________

________________________________________________________________________

19. An ion channel will only open when a specific _________________ binds to its _____________ ________.

20. If enough ions flow into the post synaptic neuron, the neuron’s threshold will be reached and the neuron will fire an ___________ ______________.

21. What are vesicles? _____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

22. What effect does an action potential have on a vesicle? ________________________

________________________________________________________________________

23. What happens to the neurotransmitter once it has done its job?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

24. What do mitochondria do? _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

25. List the 5 steps that take place in transmitting information across a synapse (these are in the “Summary” section of the movie).

1. _____________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________________

The Synapse and Learning

In this section we are going to focus on how nerve impulses travel from neuron to neuron and how we learn new things.

(NOTES: 1. Use the PAUSE button as you go through the video if you want to slow things down. 2. Yes, I know that some of this information is a repeat of what you did in the last section.)



26. Label the following parts of the neuron and describe what it is /what it does:

Dendrite, Cell Body, Axon and Axon Terminal

[pic]

27. Signals are sent from one neuron to another by jumping across a tiny space or ______________.

28. Label the following parts of the synapse and describe what it is /what it does: Presynaptic Neuron, Vesicles, Calcium Channels, Synaptic Cleft, Receptor Molecule and Postsynaptic Neuron

[pic]

29. The list below is what happens when a neuron fires and sends a signal along to another neuron. Fill in the missing blanks in each statement. (Remember to use the Pause button!)

a. When an ______ __________ begins in a neuron, it travels down the _______.

b. When the action potential reaches the ______ terminal, _________ ____________ open and calcium ions rush into the neuron.

c. When calcium binds to the ___________, the vesicles carry _______________ toward the presynaptic membrane.

d. The neurotransmitter is released into the _______ _________.

e. Neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to ____________ on the ______________ _____________.

f. The post synaptic neuron receptors are activated. In this case, these receptors allow ________ ions in, causing an __________ potential to start in the postsynaptic membrane.

g. Neurotransmitters are __________ back into the _________ cleft.

Exercises

In this section you will learn how we learn new things. Do the exercises and answer the following questions.

30. By changing how nerves are connected, we _________ ___________.

31. In the first exercise, the star is always ___________.

32. How do we learn?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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33. We have specific neurons for recognizing ________ and __________.

34. How did you learn to match the neurons, the star shape, and the color orange?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

35. In the second exercise, what change did you make in your synapse?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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36. List the ways that you might change a synapse.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

THE TEENAGE BRAIN IN SEARCH OF ITSELF

A WEBQUEST FOR THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN

Turlock High School

Introduction:

Why do you feel like an alien in your body?

Why don’t your parents understand you?

Why don’t your teachers understand you?

Often your peers can’t connect with what is going on in your head.

Even you don’t have a clue why you said what you said, or did what you did. So what’s happening?

Objective: Using a web-quest, students will develop their own portfolio on topics in neuroscience. It is an inquiry- based search that requires students to create their own drawings, tables. They will also answer questions as they explore topics related to neurobiology

TOPIC SEQUENCE

A. Getting the Picture: Technology used to “see” the brain

B. How is your brain changing?

C. Where in your brain are the changes happening?

D. What might these changes mean in terms of how you think, learn, and behavior?

A. Getting the Picture

A number of ways of “seeing” your brain



1a. List five technologies used to scan the brain. Include their acronyms. (Sentences are not required for this answer.)

1. _____________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________

Click on the EEG arrow.

Read about EEGs and answer the following questions.

2a. Who was the first person to use this kind of technology?

________________________________________________________________________

3a. Where and when did he do this?

________________________________________________________________________

4a. Are images of the brain are “seen” with this technology?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5a. What are researchers actually observing?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

6a. What is the disadvantage of using this method for observing the brain?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click “Back”

Select the Scan type CAT.

7a. When was this technology developed?

________________________________________________________________________

8a. This technology creates 3 –dimensional images from what kind of 2-dimensional imaging technology?

________________________________________________________________________

9a. What can CAT scans detect?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click “Back”

Select the Scan type PET.

10a. When was this technology developed?

________________________________________________________________________

11a. What advantage does this technology have over earlier techniques for observing the brain?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click “Back”

Select the Scan type MRI

Take the tour of an MRI machine.

12a. What element in the body is affected by the magnets in the MRI machine?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

13a. After the atoms return to their natural alignment having released their energy, what instrument is used to produce the image?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

14a. What advantage does the MRI scan have over the Pet scan for the subject?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click “Back”

Select the Scan type MEG

15a. What does MEG detect from the brain?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

16a. What is the name of the sensitive instrument that detects the brain’s magnetic field?

________________________________________________________________________

17a. Although expensive and heavy, what can it do that makes it an important brain scanning method?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

B. How is your brain changing?

Click on this link



Read the section titled “Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex” of the article “Adolescent Brains Are A Work In Progress.” (A printed copy is available if you want one.)

After reading this part of the article, answer the following questions.

1b. What do scientists mean by the principle of “use-it-or-lose-it” when talking about how neurons connect?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2b. What is gray matter? (You may need to use an outside resource to look this up.)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3b. What is a possible explanation for increased growth of gray matter in early puberty (age 11 to 12)?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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4b. What technology is used by neuroscientists to observe the growth and pruning in the teenage brain?

________________________________________________________________________

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5b. Identify three functions of the prefrontal cortex.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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6b. Identify three functions that improve as the teenage brain matures.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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7b. Why is pruning synapses and losing gray matter important for brain development?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click on this link



Read the “press release” “Imaging Study Shows Brain Maturing”. Then reexamine the section “Time-Lapse Imaging Tracks Brain Maturation from ages 5 to 20” as well as the picture of the brains.

Refer back to the principle of “use-it-or-lose-it”.

5b. Gray matter wanes (lessens) in which direction as the brain is pruned, back to front, or front to back?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

C. Where in your brain are the changes happening?

Staying on this site and continue answering the following questions.

(For references, refer back to your notes and diagrams of brain parts given in class).

1c. Which parts (lobes) of the brain begin these changes first?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2c. Can you name a function in that area that would be affected?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3c. Which region of the brain changes last?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Click on this link



Scroll down to Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex

Read this section, which is part of an interview with Dr. Jay Giedd, whose research using MRI technology revealed an extensive amount of information on the developing teenage brain.

D. What might these changes mean in terms of how you think, learn, and your behavior?

View a video clip from “Inside the Teenage Brain”. Click on the link



Select video clip 4. “You Just Don’t Understand.”

Select video clip 3. “Mood Swings”.

Having completed your web quest there is one final question.

Do you think you could answer any of the questions posed in the Introduction?

Why do you feel like an alien in your body?

Why don’t your parents understand you?

Why don’t your teachers understand you?

Often your peers can’t connect with what is going on in your head.

Even you don’t have a clue why you said what you said, or did what you did. So what’s happening?

WEBQUEST FINISHED

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