PSY 220 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Second Messenger System, Neuroglia, Thyroid
16 Sep 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Main ideas: at a synapse, a neuron releases chemicals called neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit another cell. In most cases, a single release of neurotransmitter produces only a subthreshold response in the receiving cell. Synapse- gap between neurons over which neurotransmitters send messages to other neurons. In the late 1800s, ram n y cajal proved that neurons are separate but connected in certain areas by synapses. In 1906, charles scott sherrington physiologically demonstrated that communication between one neuron and the next differs from communication along a single axon. Sherrington studied reflexes- automatic muscular responses to stimuli. Reflex arc- the circuit from sensory neuron to muscle response. Because transmission through a reflex arc is slower than transmission through an equivalent length of axon, sherrington concluded that some process at the synapse delays transmission. Spatial summation is critical to brain functioning; it ensures that a sensory stimulus stimulates neurons enough to activate them.
