PSYC 1001 Chapter 3: PSYC1001 Chapter 3 Notes

• School: Carleton University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1001
• Professor: Chris Motz

Document Summary

Nervous system = living tissue composed of cells: the cells fall into two major categories: glia and neurons. Information ows into the cell body and then travels away from the soma along the axon: axon: a long, thin bre that transmits signals away from the soma to other neurons or to muscles or glands. May be quite long + may branch off to communicate with a number of other cells. Terminal buttons: small knobs that secrete chemicals called neurotransmitters: neurotransmitters serve as messengers that may activate neighbouring neurons. Synapse: a junction where information is transmitted from one neutron to another. *information is received at the dendrites, is passed through the soma and along the axon, and is transmitted to the dendrites of other cells at meeting points called synapses. Glia: glia: cells found throughout the nervous system that provide various types of support for neurons, tend to be much smaller than neurons but they outnumber neurons by about 10:1.