Suppose You Wanted to Build a Neuron That Carried Information

question 9

Multiple Choice

Suppose you wanted to build a neuron that carried information very quickly. One way to increase the speed of conduction of a neural impulse would be to:

• A) activate the neuron with an intense stimulus.
• B) wrap the axon in a myelin sheath.
• C) make the axon very long.
• D) place many dendrites on the neuron.

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Definitions:

Burgess Shale

A famous fossil field located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, known for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils from the Cambrian Period.

Cambrian Period

A geologic era approximately 541 million years ago, marked by a rapid increase in the diversity of life and the appearance of most major animal groups.

Evolution

The way in which a range of living beings is believed to have originated and diversified from former types during the chronological history of the earth.

Evolutionary Diversification

The process by which a single ancestral species evolves into a wide variety of descendant species differing in morphology, behavior, and ecological niches.