PSYCH101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4-6, 11: Reticular Formation, Acetylcholine, Twin

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH101
• Professor: Richard Ennis

Document Summary

Biological psychology is the branch that concerns links between biology and behaviour. Although a human brain is more complex than a rat, it still follows the same principles so its good for scientist to study other animals. Sensory neurons carry messages from body tissues or organs to brain and spinal cord for processing, then the motor neurons send out information to body tissues. Interneurons are neurons within the brain and spinal cord. Axon is part of neuron, sends messages to other neurons while dendrite receives messages from other neurons. Action potential is a brief electrical charge (caused by electrically charged ions) that travels down its axon. Neuron reaction is all or none response; if enough excitatory signal it will reach threshold, after that the amount of signal is unimportant. The synaptic gap is the gap between axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another, the neurotransmitter cross the gaps and bind onto receptor sites.