Neuroscience

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/neuroscience

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is neuroscience?Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system, including the brain, to understand how we think, feel, and move. It looks at tiny cells called neurons and how they work together. Scientists use many tools from biology to computer science to learn about the brain.
2. How do neurons send messages in the brain?Neurons send messages with electrical signals called action potentials that travel down their axons. When the signal reaches the end, it releases chemicals called neurotransmitters into a tiny gap. These chemicals bind to receptors on the next neuron, telling it to fire or not.

Neuroscience: The scientific study of the nervous system, encompassing its structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology.
Neuron: A specialized cell that transmits electrochemical signals, forming the fundamental structural and functional unit of the nervous system.
Synapse: A junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a small gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter or by electrical conduction.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger that transmits signals from a neuron across a synapse to a target cell, which can be another neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.