PSYC 3307 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Basal Ganglia, Brainstem, Ependyma
25 Jul 2020
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Document Summary
A 2 - 4mm thick laminated sheet" consisting of up to 6 layers of neurons. Isocortex: 6 layers (90% of human cortex) Paleocortex and archicortex (3 - 4 neural layers) Cortical surface area in humans = ~2,500 cm2. # of cortical neurons: ~2 x 1010 (herculano-houzel, 2009) # of cortical synapses: ~2. 4 x 1014. # of possible cortical hebbian circuits - (??!!) Neurons are the information processing components of the cortex. Glial cells support vegetative physiology and provide the infrastructure for the blood-brain barrier. About equal numbers of neurons and glia. Most numerous glial cell type in cortical grey matter. Glia limitans: astrocyte foot processes that serve as the blood-brain. Helps migration of neurons during brain development. Capable of myelinating several axons (as opposed to schwann cells that only myelinate a single axon in the peripheral nervous system) In response to tissue damage they transform into large, ameboid phagocytic cells. Function as scavengers" of the nervous system.
