[PY 101] - Midterm Exam Guide - Everything you need to know! (57 pages long)

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PY 101
• Professor: Craig Walter Cummings

Document Summary

The nervous system is responsible for everything we think, feel and do. Neurons: the basic units of the nervous system; cells that receive, integrate, and transmit information in the nervous system. They operate through electrical impulses, communicate with other neurons through chemical signals, and form neural networks. Credited with discovering that neurons were individual cells, eventually leading to what would later be referred to as the neuron doctrine. Central nervous system (cns): brain and spinal cord. Peripheral nervous system (pns): all nerve cells in the body that are not apart of the central nervous system. The peripheral nervous system includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. Sensory neurons: these neurons detect information from the physical world and pass the information to the brain. Somatosensory nerves provide information from the skin and muscles. Motor neurons: these neurons direct muscles to contract or relax, thereby producing movement. Interneurons: these neurons communicate within local or short-distance circuits.