PSYCH 3400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Cerebral Circulation, Frontal Lobe, Auditory Cortex
Document Summary
Axon: a long nerve fiber that usually conducts impulses away from the cell body of a neuron. Dendrite: a branching fiber that receives information and conducts impulses toward the cell body of a neuron. Synapse: the gap between the dendrites of one neuron and the axon of another, over which impulses flow, neurotransmitters cross the gap. Myelination: formation of a fatty layer encasing the axons of neurons, myelin. Specialized glial cells form the insulation: not all connections get myelinated, ones that do get myelinated: The more used pathways (thicker = more used) Arborization: tree axons grow from one neuron to other genetically predetermined parts of the brain, this leads to axonal branching. Synaptogenesis: the process of making connections between nerve cells at the synapses. Pruning: the process of synapse elimination, kids with autism don"t have this. Visual cortex: synaptic density increases significantly after birth. Prefrontal cortex: peaking at age 3 prune back. Regulate their own emotions (not in terrible twos)
