PSYB65H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4&5: Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide, Tetraethylammonium, Phospholipid
Document Summary
Chapter 4: activity of neurons: neurons are the information- conducting units of the nervous system. A neuron has many characteristics in common with other cells in the body, but it also has special characteristics that allow it to send electrical impulses by using changes in chemical charges on its cell membrane. Perhaps the most prominent distinguishing features are the dendrites, whose presence greatly increases the cell"s surface area. Because dendrites collect information from other cells, their surface areas determine how much information a neuron can gather. Because the dendritic spines are the points of communication between neurons, the many thousands of spines provide some indication of how much information a neuron may receive. Each neuron has a single axon, extending out of an expansion of the cell body known as the axon hillock (hillock means little hill ; figure 4. 1d). The axon may have branches called axon collaterals, which usually emerge from it at right angles.
