PSY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Psychedelic Drug, Latrodectus, Curare

• School: University at Buffalo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 101
• Professor: Quinton Wendy

Document Summary

Nervous system at work- ex watching a scary movie, you react by screaming or sweating. Nervous system handle information just as circulatory system handles blood. Nervous system is living tissue composed of cells. Nervous tissue- two categories of cells- glia and neurons. Glia (glue)- mainly provides structure, support and nourishment to neurons. Neurons- individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information. Soma- cell body, contains nucleus, responsible for the life of the cell. Dendrites- branch-like parts of neuron, receive information. Axon- long, thin fiber that transmits signals, some can be multiple feet long others are so tiny you can barely see them under a microscope. Terminal buttons- small knobs that secrete chemicals called neurotransmitters (how they communicate with each other) Myelin- insulating material, speeds up transmission of signals, white fatty like material on axon- multiple sclerosis. Nodes of ranvier- natural gaps in myelin. Synapse- junction (gap) between neurons through which messages are transmitted- communication.