PSY 150A1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Lesion, Short-Term Memory, Midbrain

• School: University of Arizona
• Department: Psychology Main
• Course: PSY 150A1
• Professor: Adam Lazarewicz

Document Summary

Lecture 3: biological bases of behavior biological psychology (aka. biopsychology, neuroscience): The brain has ~ 100 billion neurons. Cell body (soma): the parts of an organism other than the reproductive cells. Dendrites: a short branched extension of a nerve cell, along which impulses received from other cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body. Axon: long cable like extensions that deliver messages to other neurons. Myelin sheath: layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axon and speeds up neurotransmission. Terminal buttons: the location where neurotransmitters are stored, located at the end of axon branches. All-or-none law: neuron is always either at rest or firing, there is no inbetween. Resting potential: negative charge within neurons at rest. Action potential: shifting electrical charge moving down the axon (electrochemical). Excitatory messages: (gas pedal) telling neurons to fire. Inhibitory messages: (brake pedal) telling neurons to slow down and stop firing. Threshold: the amount of excitatory signal needed for a neuron to fire.