BIOL 1050 Lecture Notes - Lecture 29: Parasympathetic Nervous System, Sympathetic Nervous System, Preganglionic Nerve Fibers

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 1050
• Professor: Steve Bowley

Document Summary

Neuron: basic anatomical unit of the nervous system. Resting potential is when axon is -70 mv, and then local depolarization occurs, sodium ions enter, and causes a spike up to ~40 mv. Repolarization then occurs, causing the axon to become more negative again. For clinicians: neural transmission is extremely important bc it serves as the basis for electrophysiological events such as electromyography, electrocardiography, and electroencephalography. Ecg: recording the electoral activity of the heart. Neural transmission beings at the postsynaptic membranes of the dendrites. Chemical or electrical processes are initiated, which cause the neuron to conduct the incoming signal through the dendrites and the cell body, down the axon, until it reaches the presynaptic membranes. Neuro(cid:374)s do(cid:374)"t tou(cid:272)h o(cid:374)e a(cid:374)other there exists a space b/w neurons called the synaptic cleft. These are the key to crossing the synaptic cleft. They are present in storage vesicles in the axon. The chemical compounds await the proper cues to migrate toward the presynaptic membrane.