Process
OCR A-Level Biology H420
Cell Structure
Biological Molecules
Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids
Enzymes
Biological Membranes
Cell Division, Cell Diversity and Cellular Organisation
Exchange Surfaces
Transport in Animals
Transport in Plants
Communicable Diseases, Disease Prevention and the Immune System
Biodiversity
Classification and Evolution
Communication and Homeostasis
Excretion as an Example of Homeostatic Control
Neuronal Communication
Hormonal Communication
Plant and Animal Responses
Topic overviewTropisms and plant responses to stress and herbivoryPlant hormones and their commercial usesThe nervous system and the brainReflex actions and the knee jerk reflexFight or flight and the control of heart rateThe structure of skeletal muscleThe neuromuscular junction and the sliding filament model
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Cellular Control
Patterns of Inheritance
Manipulating Genomes
Cloning and Biotechnology
Topic overviewNatural plant cloning and taking cuttingsMicropropagationAdvantages and disadvantages of plant cloningAnimal cloning: embryo twinning and nuclear transferAdvantages and disadvantages of animal cloningMicroorganisms in food productionAseptic techniqueFermentation and its conditionsThe microbial growth curveImmobilised enzymes
Ecosystems
Populations and Sustainability
Practical Skills and Mathematical Requirements
Neuronal Communication
- 5 subtopics
- 9 things to know
- Components 01 and 03
What Neuronal Communication covers
Neuronal communication is the third section of Module 5. It covers how a sensory receptor turns a stimulus into a generator potential, the types of neurone and why myelination speeds transmission, the resting and action potentials, and how an impulse crosses a synapse.
Where it is assessed
Components 01 and 03
Module 5 is examined on Biological Processes, then the unified paper.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 5 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Sensory receptors and the Pacinian corpuscleHow a receptor converts one form of energy into another, and the lamellae, stretch-mediated sodium channels and generator potential of a Pacinian corpuscle.Open →
- Types of neurone and myelinationSensory, relay and motor neurones and how each is built, the Schwann cells and nodes of Ranvier of a myelinated neurone, and saltatory conduction.Open →
- Resting potential and the action potentialThe sodium-potassium pump and membrane permeability at rest, depolarisation, repolarisation and hyperpolarisation, the refractory period, and the all-or-nothing rule.Open →
- Transmission across a cholinergic synapseCalcium entry at the presynaptic knob, the release and binding of acetylcholine, the sodium entry that follows, and the acetylcholinesterase that ends it.Open →
- Summation and inhibitory synapsesSpatial and temporal summation, the difference between excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and how a postsynaptic neurone decides whether to fire.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why is the refractory period important?
Process
Explain transmission across a cholinergic synapse.
Key term
What is the first event that occurs when a Pacinian corpuscle is stimulated?
Key term
What is the resting potential of a neurone and what does it indicate about charge distribution?
Key term
Define generator potential.
Key term
Define a synapse.
Key term
Define summation in the context of synaptic transmission.
Key term
Compare sensory, relay and motor neurones, and state what forms the myelin sheath and its gaps.
Take Neuronal Communication further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Depolarisation vs Repolarisation
Depolarisation: the membrane potential becoming less negative as sodium ions enter. Repolarisation: the membrane potential becoming more negative as potassium ions leave.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the function of sensory receptors in terms of energy conversion?
Model answer
Sensory receptors are transducers that convert different types of stimuli (e.g. pressure, light, chemicals) into nerve impulses (electrical signals).
- 2
What type of receptor is the Pacinian corpuscle, and what stimuli does it detect?
Model answer
The Pacinian corpuscle is a mechanoreceptor that detects pressure and vibration.
- 3
Describe the structure of a Pacinian corpuscle.
Model answer
It consists of a sensory nerve ending surrounded by layers of connective tissue called lamellae, which are separated by gel.
- 4
What is the first event that occurs when a Pacinian corpuscle is stimulated?
Model answer
Pressure is applied to the corpuscle.
- 5
What happens to the lamellae when pressure is applied to a Pacinian corpuscle?
Model answer
The lamellae deform and press on the sensory nerve ending.
- 6
What type of ion channels open when the lamellae press on the nerve ending in a Pacinian corpuscle?
Model answer
Stretch-mediated sodium channels open.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Neuronal Communication revision questions
- What does Neuronal Communication cover in OCR A-Level Biology?
- 5 subtopics: sensory receptors and the pacinian corpuscle, types of neurone and myelination, resting potential and the action potential, transmission across a cholinergic synapse and summation and inhibitory synapses. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Neuronal Communication organised?
- By the OCR H420 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Neuronal Communication, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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