Key Terms

2.1 Neural Communication

Neurotransmitters, Action potentials, Chemical synapses, Synaptic cleft, Pre-synaptic, Pre-synaptic terminal, Post-synaptic, Post-synaptic terminal, Excitatory Post-Synaptic Potential (EPSP), Inhibitory Post-Synaptic Potential (IPSP), Electrical Synapse, Connexon, Resting Potential, Threshold, Sensory Neuron, Motor Neuron

2.2 Neural Circuits

Rhythm, Feedback, Parallel processing, Model, Computational neuroscience, Simulation, Abstraction, Neural prosthetic

2.3 Principles of Bioelectricity

Voltage-sensitive fluorescent protein, Propagation, Ion pumps, Ion channels, Electrolytes, Charge, Electrostatic force, Ion, Current, Conductance, Insulator, Electrical potential, Ohm’s law, Membrane potential, Electrode (recording electrode, reference electrode), Neurophysiology, Solute, Diffusion, Concentration gradient, Battery, Ion channel, Selectivity filter, Ligand-gated ion channel, Voltage-gated ion channel, Equilibrium potential

2.4 Mechanisms of Neural Signaling

Resting potential, Leak K⁺ channels, Leak Na⁺ channels, Ligand-gated channel (aka Neurotransmitter-gated channel), Action potential, Initial segment, Propagation, Rising phase, Falling phase, Undershoot, Inactivating voltage-gated Na⁺ channel, Voltage-gated K⁺ channel, Threshold, Subthreshold, Positive feedback, Refractory period

2.5 Our Deep but Still Incomplete Understanding of Neural Signaling

Autoimmune disorder, Autoreceptors, Backpropagate, Flaccid paralysis, Homeostasis, Retrograde messengers, Spastic paralysis