PSY 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Electrochemical Gradient, Axon Hillock, Axon Terminal

• School: Stony Brook University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 250
• Professor: Hoi- Chung Leung

Document Summary

1) let"s look at signal transmission in a simple neural circuit: knee jerk reflex loop. Signal needs to be generated, travel down the length of an axon and cross the gap between neurons. Learning objective: be able to describe the steps in which neurons generate, conduct and transmit electrochemical signals at difference levels (e. g. , dendritic, axonal, synaptic). Also, be able to recognize the major neurotransmitters and describe their functions. Lecture outline: a brief review of the neuronal structure and basic chemistry. - synaptic terminals (releasing sites) pre and post. - axon hillock (sums up all positive and negative signals) - the nervous system is considered an electrochemical system. - neuronal communication occurs both electrically and chemically. - neurons are filled with and surrounded by electrically charged molecules called ions. If a- is in the nucleus and all the ions around are positive- it will still be negative. [this is about the infrastructure - preparing a cell to fire upon stimulation!]