BIOL 2P94 Lecture Notes - Thromboxane, Solitary Nucleus, Lactic Acidosis
4 Feb 2013
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Document Summary
Neurons are very active in protein synthesis and packaging. They also have complex shapes and dynamic polarization (where different parts of the neuron perform different functions). Primary receptive surfaces are the cell body (soma) and dendrites. The soma is where transcription/translation occur, and has nissl bodies (rough er) and lots of golgi. Dendritic fields of different neurons can vary dramatically, though they"re usually pretty small, less than 100 microns. Their patterns results from genetic and environmental input, and varies with what they need to sample. Dendritic spines have a head and neck, and they receive excitatory input. They are dynamic structures, coated with actin and myosin to help this. Their purpose is to provide specificity for the kinds of synapses formed. Spine density changes, decreasing with age for example. Spines are somewhat isolated from the parent dendrite, both electrically and chemically.
