Psychology 1000 Chapter 3: Psychology CHapter 3 notes

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Terry Biggs

Document Summary

To understand how the brain controls our experience and behaviour, we must rst understand how its individual cells function and how they communitcate with one another. Neurons: specialized cells that are the basic building blocks of the nervous system. Each neuron has three main parts: the cell body, the axon, and the dendrites. The cell body (or soma) contains the biochemical structures that keep the cell alive. Nucleus contains the genetic info that determines how the cell develops or functions. They collect the messages from neighbouring neurons and send them onto the cell body. The cell body is where the info is contained and processed. The axon extends from one side of the cell body and conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands. It branches out at its end to form a number of axon terminals (can come in hundreds)