PSY 347 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Neuroglia, Neuropeptide, Epigenetics
Document Summary
Structure and function of the nervous system (biology) Lecture 1: glial: provide metabolic support, protection, and insulation, neurons: transmit information chemically and electrically. 2 primary cell types: sensory: convert environmental stimuli into electric signals, interneurons: form neural circuits within brain and the spinal cord, motor neurons: control behavioral responses and reflexes. All cells have the same genetic material/information, but only make the proteins appropriate for their location (different expression) Gene: segments of dna that code for specific proteins. Base pairs: protein blueprints (adenine+thymine (uracil) and guanine+cytosine) Enzyme: catalyst that controls a specific chemical reaction, like protein synthesis. Happens in two steps: transcription: dna strand is unwound in half by mrna in nucleus. Epigenetics: gene-environment interaction (nature-nurture effects); control of gene expression by chromosome modification. Does not affect actual dna code, just what is used/expressed. Chromatin: complex spherical histone proteins around which dna wraps: euchromatin: loosely packed, therefore have active transcription, heterochromatin: tightly packed, therefore have repressed transcription.
