Sunday, March 30, 2014 - , , , 1 Talk Back(s)

The Nervous System

The Nervous System: Start with an individual nerve cell called a NEURON.
Neuroanatomy

Synapse: A structure that permits a neuron to pass a chemical or electrical signal to another cell.

How does a Neuron fire?
Resting Potential: Slightly negative charge.
  • Reaches the threshold when enough neurotransmitters reaches dendrites.
It is an electrochemical process
  • Electrical inside the the neuron
  • Chemical outside the neuron (In the synapse in the form of neurotransmitter)
  • The firing is called Action Potential
The All-or-None response: The idea that either the neuron fires or it does not- no part way firing- like a gun.

Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers released by terminal button through the synapse.
Four Types of Neurotransmitters:
  1. Acetylcholine (ACH): Deals with motor movement and memory.                                                                                           Lack of ACH has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. 
  2. Dophamine: Deals with motor movement and alertness.                                                                                          Lack of dophamine has been linked to Parkinson's disease.                                                                Too much has been linked to Schizophrenia.
  3. Serotonin: Involved in mood control.                                                                                                                   Lack of Serotonin has been linked to chemical depression.
  4. Endorphins: Involved in pain control.                                                                                                                      Many of our most addictive drugs deal with endorphins.
Drugs can be...
Agonist: Make a neuron fire
Antagonists: Stop neural firing

Three Types of Neuron:
  1. Sensory Neurons [Afferent Neurons]                                                                                                      Take information from the senses to the brain
  2. Inter Neurons                                                                                                                                          Take the messages from sensory neurons to other parts of the brain or to motor neuron.
  3. Motor Neuron [Efferent Neurons]                                                                                                           Take information from the brain to the rest of the body. 




1 Talk Back(s):

Unknown April 6, 2014 at 11:50 AM

Despite what was learned in class, do you believe it could ever be possible for a person to function properly and with out any issues if any damage (damage that in today's time restricts people from a normal life) occurred to the nervous system, without medicine or other treatments, just from something new we learn?

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