PSYC100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Agonist, Myelin, Semipermeable Membrane
Document Summary
Chapter 3: biological basis of behavior: everything psychological is simultaneously biological , phrenology-popular/fake theory that claimed bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abiliies and our character traits. Correct idea that diferent areas of brain focus on diferent funcions. Body is composed of cells, nerve cells communicate by chemical messages, experience is felt through transmiters (internal & external: biological psychologists-ind links between biological acivity & psychological events. Sleep, dreams, depression, schizophrenia, hunger, sex, stress, disease. Axons speak, dendrites listen: myelin sheath-layer of faty issue that insulates axons of some neurons and helps speed up impulses. Neural eiciency, judgment, self-control all grow with age. Degenerates=muliple sclerosis results: acion potenial-a brief electrical charge that travels down axons when transmiing messages; simulated by signals from our senses (ires impulse) Resing potenial-posiive-outside/negaive-inside state & axon contains semi-permeable membrane. Threshold-if excitatory signals minus inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity,
