PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Autonomic Nervous System, Myelin, Central Nervous System

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jill L Atkinson

Document Summary

The nervous system: a combination of several subsystems : central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) , Peripheral nervous system (skeletal nervous system, sensory or afferent, motor of efferent) and autonomic nervous system [part of the pns (sympathetic, parasympathetic)] Peripheral nervous system (pns: divided into skeletal and autonomic portions which contain sensory and motor nerves, skeletal- controls the muscles, autonomic- controls the involuntary muscles (heart, diaphragm) and internal organs. Neurons: transmitting information: neurons aren"t connected randomly rather they selectively communicate with other neurons to form circuits or networks, features of prototypical neuron: 1. Cell body- contains structures that maintain cell health and metabolism 2. Nucleus- contains dna and directs the manufacture of the proteins that run the cell 3. Dendrites- look like tree branches, receive information 4. Axons- transmit information from one neuron to the next 5. Myelin sheath- covers the axon to insulate it and makes impulses travel quicker and more ef ciently 6.