PS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Axon Terminal, Hebbian Theory, Solomon H. Snyder
Document Summary
The soma, or cell body, contains the cell nucleus and much of chemical machinery common to most cells. The neurons have a number of branched-like structures called dendritic trees; each branch is a dendrite. Dendrites are the part of a neuron that are specialized to receive info. From the dendrites, info flows into cell body and then travels away from soma along the axon. The axon is a long thin fiber that transmits signals away from the soma to other neurons or to muscles or glands. In humans many axons are wrapped in cells with a high concentration of a white, fatty substance called myelin. The myelin sheath is insulating material, derived from glial cells, that encases some axons; it speeds up transmission of signals that move along axons. The disease multiple sclerosis is due to a degeneration of myelin sheaths. The axon ends in a cluster of terminal buttons, which are small knobs that secrete chemicals called neurotransmitters.
