01:830:331 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4.3: Neural Tube, The Immature, Thunderstorm

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:331
• Professor: J Hudson

Document Summary

While crowing the street, 10-year-old martin was struck by a passing car. He was in a coma for a week, but then gradually became more alert, and now he is aware of his surroundings. Neuron: a cell that is the basic unit of the brain and the rest of the nervous system; specializes in receiving and transmitting information. Cell body: the center of the neuron contains the basic biological machinery that keeps the neuron alive. Dendrite: the end of the neuron that receives information; looks like a tree with many branches. Axon: a tube-like structure that emerges from the cell body and transmits information to other neurons. Myelin: a fatty sheath that surrounds neurons in the central nervous system and allows them to transmit information more rapidly. The boost in neural speed from myelin is like the difference between driving and flying: from about 6 feet per second to 50 feet per second.