PSYC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Reticular Formation, Axon Terminal, Neuroglia
Document Summary
At micro level: info dendrite axon exits through axon terminal. Glial cell (housekeepers)- remove dead neurons, pathogens, supply nutrients/oxygen, supports structure. Communication between neurons occurs via neurotransmitters: synaptic cleft. Cns: brain/spinal cord; processes, stores and interprets info. Pns: everything else; connects cns to rest of body: somatic regulates voluntary motor actions, autonomic more involuntary, muscles/glands/organs. Sympathetic: fight or flight triggers cascade of physiological processes: dilates pupils, speeds heart rate/breathing, inhibits digestion, sweaty palms. Parasympathetic opposite of all of the above homeostasis: can also be activated by physical activity. Older brain: basic life functions, enable memory, emotions, basic drives. Newer brain: perceiving, thinking, speaking: medulla- heartbeat and breathing, pons- movement coordination and sleep, thalamus- sensory relay, reticular formation- arousal and alertness, cerebellum- essential for movement, controls balance, allows us to conduct learned movement unconsciously. Amygdala- response to fearful stimuli and fearful memory formation. Hypothalamus- motivation; drives hunger/thirst/sex, body temp, and body clock. Hippocampus- memory; new memory formation, neural maps of places.
