PSYC62H3 Chapter 4: chapter4
Document Summary
Drugs that affect these psychological variables do so because they alter these biochemical and electrochemical processes. Human nervous system contains ~ 85 billion neurons. The cns utilizes from 20% (adult) to 60% infants of the resting energy consumption in humans. Conduction is primarily an electrochemical process that is all or none . Neurotransmission is primarily a chemical process and may be graded . Psychotropic drugs are simply chemicals that alter the normal processes of conduction, neurotransmission, or both. Each neuron has numerous excitatory (e) and inhibitory (i) inputs or synapses, which regulate the frequency of action potentials produced by them. The main body of the neuron is called its some, part of which serve integrative function in the communication of information. Normally, there are many dendrites extending from the soma, which serves as receivers of information from other neurons, and one axon, which serves as the pathway over which signals pass from the soma to other neurons.
