PSY 100 Lecture 5: Chapter 2 Book Notes
Document Summary
Biological perspective - concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Includes psychologists working in neuroscience, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology. Neuron a nerve cell : the basic building block of the nervous system. Dendrites a neuron"s bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. Dendrites are the structures on the neuron that receive electrical messages. These messages come in two basic forms: excitatory and inhibitory. Myelin sheath a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons ; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next. Glial cells cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons ; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory. Action potential a neural impulse ; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. Refractory period a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired.
