POLI 4021 Chapter : POLI 4021 PP 11 14 2013 CapitalPunishment
Document Summary
Nervous system: an extensive network of specialized cells that carry information to and from all parts of the body. Neuroscience: (a branch of life science) deals with the structure and function of neurons, nerves, and nervous tissue. Biological psychology (behavioral neuroscience): biological bases of psychological processes, behavior, and learning (branch of neuroscience) Neurons: the basic cell that makes up the nervous system and receives and sends messages within that system. Although the entire body is composed of cells, each type of cell has a special purpose and function, and therefore, a special structure. Dendrites: branchlike structures that receive messages from other neurons (looks like the branches of a tree) Soma: the cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell (part of the cell that contains the nucleus) Axon: tubelike structure that carries the neural message to other cells. Neurons only make up 10 percent of the cells in the brain.