Final answer:
Habituation is based on changes in the postsynaptic neuron, not the presynaptic terminal, making the statement false. Neurotransmitter receptors are on postsynaptic cells and bind neurotransmitters, while sensory receptors detect external stimuli. The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the peripheral nervous system, not the central nervous system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Habituation is a form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases its responses to a stimulus after repeated presentations. The question pertains to whether habituation occurs based on changes at the presynaptic terminal of the sensory neuron, which is false. Changes related to habituation are most often associated with modifications in the postsynaptic neuron, such as alteration in receptor density or synaptic strength, rather than at the presynaptic terminal.
The differences between a neurotransmitter receptor and a sensory receptor are that a neurotransmitter receptor is a protein on a post-synaptic cell's membrane that binds to neurotransmitters released in a synapse, whereas a sensory receptor is a specialized cell or structure that detects external stimuli, such as light, sound, or chemical composition.
The part of a postsynaptic neuron that typically receives the signals from a presynaptic neuron is the dendrites or the cell body, where receptors for neurotransmitters are located.
For the senses of smell and hearing, the respective sensory receptor cells are olfactory receptor cells and hair cells. Olfactory receptor cells, which are chemoreceptors, detect chemical substances as odors. Hair cells are mechanoreceptors that detect vibrations for the sense of hearing.
It is true that sensory information such as smell, taste, and sound, is carried to the CNS by cranial nerves. The action potential is an “all-or-none” event, meaning that once the threshold is reached, the action potential is generated to its full extent every time, and larger stimuli do not cause larger action potentials.
A neurotransmitter's effect—excitatory or inhibitory—is determined by the type of receptor it binds to on the postsynaptic neuron. The parasympathetic nervous system is falsely attributed as a division of the central nervous system; it is actually a part of the peripheral nervous system.
Finally, it is true that synapses often exist where a dendrite and an axon terminal meet, but it is false that there is only one axon terminal per neuron. Neurons can have multiple axon terminals, allowing them to form synapses with multiple target cells.