PSYC 303 Chapter 1: Week 1- Chapter 1 (21 - 29)
6 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Santiago ramon y cajal developed some of the most painstaking and breathtaking insights into the organization of neurons in the brain. He peered into microscopes, making detailed drawings of neurons and their connections. He suggested that neurons do not actually touch one another. Depicted neurons as separate cells with tiny gaps between them. Sir sherrington named the tiny gap between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of the next a synapse. Synapse: the junction between neurons that permits information transfer. He demonstrated that the speed of neural transmission decreases at synapses. Some neurons increase the response of next neuron but other neurons decrease the response of next neuron. Something chemical, not electrical, work at the synapse. Neurotransmitters: a chemical substance used in neuronal communication at synapses: molecules released by the axon. Individual neurons are selective to which neurotransmitters excite them or inhibit them from firing.
