PSY 251 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Central Nervous System, Axon Terminal, Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential
13 Jul 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Cns communicates with the rest of the body through nerves (bundles of thou- sands of individual fibers) attached to brain and spinal cord. Supporting cells neurons only constitute about half of the cns and have a high metabolic rate and need to be constantly supplied with nutrients and oxygen. Ranvier microglia smallest of the glial cells; act as phagocytes and protect the brain from invading microorganisms; primarily responsible for the inflammatory reaction in response to brain damage. Schwann cells cell in the pns; provides myelin for one axon and the entire cell surrounds the axon (providing one segment of the myelin sheath); chemical composition of myelin is different from that produced by oligodendro- cytes. Communication within a neuron an action potential is a series of alterations in the axon"s membrane that allow vari- ous substances to move between the interior and the fluid surrounding the axon.
