PSYC 2240 Chapter Notes -Alcoholism, Sensory Neuron, Morphine
Document Summary
At a synapse, a neuron releases neurotransmitters (chemicals) that excite or inhibit another cell or alter its response to other input. In most cases, a single release of neurotransmitter produces only a subthreshold response in the receiving cell. This response summates with other subthreshold responses to determine whether or not the cell produces an action potential. Transmission at synapses goes through many steps, and interference at any of them can alter the outcome. Nearly all drugs that affect behavior or experience do so by acting at synapses. Nearly all abused drugs increase the release of dopamine in certain brain areas. Addiction changes certain brain areas, increasing the tendency to seek the addictive substance and decreasing the response to other kinds of reinforcement. First discovered by charles scott sherrington in 1906. Reflex arc-- the circuit from sensory neuron to muscle response. Several properties of reflexes suggest special processes at the junctions between neurons (sherrington"s evidence for synaptic delay):
