PSY 1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Peripheral Nervous System, Potassium Channel, Sodium Channel
Document Summary
Nervous system is made up of neurons. Central nervous system (spinal cord and brain) Peripheral nervous system (all the other nerve cells) Pns sends signals to the cns cns organizes and interprets the information pns performs specific behaviors. Sensory neurons - detect information from the physical world and pass that info along the brain through the spinal cord. Somatosensory nerves - sensory nerves that provide information from the skin and muscle. Motor neurons - direct muscles to contract or relax, producing movement. Interneurons - communicate within local or short-distance circuits. Dendrite - short, branchlike appendages that detect chemical signals from neighboring neurons. Cell body - receive information from dendrites. Axon - electrical impulses are transmitted along a long, narrow outgrowth. Terminal buttons - end of the axon. Synapse - site where chemical communication occurs between neurons. All or none principle: a neuron either fires or it doesn"t, the neuron fires with the same potency each time.
