ESS 3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Enkephalin, Vasodilation, Thalamus
Document Summary
Fasciculus retroflexus communicates between old and new brain. Respiration and breath rate leads to the most death and overdose emergencies. **nerve impulses fire up to 1000 pulses per second with speeds up to 270mph** *dendrites receive signal from other neurons and relay them through cell body (dendritic spines are bumps of memory that form) *soma (cell body) nourishes cell and keeps it alive. *axon terminals relay messages to the dendrites, cell body, or terminals of the next cell. The activity or function of a brain cell changes as addiction develops. Long term potentiation: the more we do something, the faster it happens, which leads to heightened sensitivity and increased risk of relapse even after drug use stops. *endorphins and enkephalins are endogenous opioids- the body"s natural painkillers. *morphine, heroin, other opium derivatives or synthetics are exogenous opioids, come from outside of body. Psychoactive drugs cannot create sensations or feeliings that dont. Already have a natural counterpart in the body: monoamines.
