PHGY 209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: European Route E70, Equilibrium Point, Atp Hydrolysis
16 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
The nervous system comprises around 100 billion neurons: neurons are electrical cells. They talk to each other o communication takes place at specialized sites called synapses: the human nervous system contains hundreds of trillions of synapses, creating neural networks of vast complexity. The neuron: neurons share characteristic structures, including the cell body (soma), branching dendrites, and a single axon, which may extend anywhere from a few millimeters to more than a meter. Dendrites are like the antennas of the neuron, reaching out into the extracellular environment o. Where the synapses are located: can have very complex branching structures which create a large surface area. Axons relay information to synapses located on the dendrites. All cells have a resting membrane potential and for most cells, the inside is more negative than the outside. It is a source of potential energy the main function is being a starting point for sending electrical signals.
