PSYCO104 Lecture 7: BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCO104
• Professor: Claire Scavuzzo

Document Summary

You use all of your brain all the time. Neurons: neurons are the building block of the brain, approximately 100 billion neurons at birth. Types of neurons: sensory neurons, recode outside brain information and transmit to spinal cord/ brain. Interneurons: pass info along neurons that communicate with other neurons, motor neurons, transmitting messages from central nervous system to the muscles, glial cells, there are about 10 glial cells: 1 neuron. This is the key to understanding brain function: dendrite, absorbs chemical stimulation from other neurons, soma (nucleus) If dendritic activity is large enough an action potential will be fired. If the dendritic activity is important enough an action potential will be fired by the soma: all or nothing. All these neural activities happens about 100 million times. Resting potential of a neuron: this is the electrical charge inside a neuron (relative to outside) when the neuron is essentially at rest and receiving no stimulation.