PSY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Axon Terminal, Hindbrain, Thalamus
28 Apr 2016
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Sensory information comes into - and decisions come out of - the central nervous system (cns) The nerves outside the cns are called the peripheral nervous system (pns) The somatic nervous system conveys information from the cns to the muscles in the body, coordinating voluntary movement. The autonomic nervous system controls the involuntary actions of our internal organs and prepares us for fight or flight . Our nervous system is made up of an estimated 100 billion neurons, with approximately. The neuron (see figure 3. 1, p. 91) is composed of: Cell body the cell"s life support. Myelin sheath insulates the axons of some neurons, increases transmission speeds. Axon terminal where messages are released into the synaptic cleft to be received by other neurons. When stimulated by signals from our senses or when triggered by chemical signals from neighboring neurons a neuron fires in what is known as an action potential (see figure 3. 4: 116):
