PSY 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Peripheral Nervous System, Axon Terminal, Brainstem

• School: University of Kentucky
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 100
• Professor: Christopher Ray Archer

Document Summary

These complex processes can take place because we have a central control mechanism (the brain) and a network of pathways to communicate to different areas of the brain and the body (the nervous system) In actuality, the brain is part of the nervous system, and the communication patterns that flow through the nervous system come about due to the interactions of trillions of specialized cells called neurons. The process of communication with other neurons involves a chemical process and the introduction of neurotransmitters. Although there is a variety of different neurotransmitters, the process by which they are released is the same. When the action potential reaches the end of the axon, neurotransmitters are released from the terminal buttons into the synaptic gap. The synaptic gap, or synapse, is the tiny space between the axon (terminal button) of the sending neuron and the dendrites of the receiving neuron.