PSYC 301L Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Silver Nitrate, Nerve Net, Memory Consolidation
Document Summary
Cognitive neuroscience- study of the physiological basis of cognition. Lecture 3 notes: reaction time, errors, self-report. Physiological approach: heart rate, respiration rate, muscle activity, pet, fmri. Memory consolidation- memory for recent events is fragile: sleep improves the transfer to long term memory. Brain activity measured at encoding and retrieval. It was thought that the nerve net continued like a highway. Golgi had two better techniques: 1) only stained ~1, 2) used a silver nitrate stain. Cajal used golgi"s technique on newborn animals: invalidated the nerve net. Cajal discovered: synapse is how signals move, neural circuits not all neurons are connected, receptors receive information from the environment, not other neurons. Neurons have both a receiving and transmitting end. Nodes of ranvier- gaps without myelin that generate action potential. Microelectrodes- small conductive solution, picks up electrical signals. At rest: intercellular is 70 millivolts more negative than outer: action potential- impulse causes inside to be 40 millivolts greater than outer.
