PSY290H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Extracellular Fluid, Ion Channel, Fluid Compartments
Document Summary
Chapter 3: neurophysiology the generation, transmission, and integration of neural signals. Neurophysiology is the study of the specialized life processes that allow neurons to use chemical and electrical processes to sum up vast amount of information, and then pass information on to other neurons. The classic pattern of neural function: information flows within a neuron via electrical signals (action potentials) and passes between neurons through chemical signals (neurotransmitters. Electrical signals are the vocabulary of the nervous system. All livi(cid:374)g (cid:272)ells are (cid:373)ore (cid:374)egati(cid:448)e o(cid:374) the i(cid:374)side tha(cid:374) o(cid:374) the outside (cid:894)the(cid:455)"re polarized), meaning that there is a difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the cell. A balance of electrochemical forces produces the resting potential of neurons. All of these ions are dissolved in the intracellular fluid (also called cytoplasm) inside the cell, and the extracellular fluid (also called interstitial fluid) surrounding the cell membrane (the lipid bilayer that sheathes a cell)
