Module 3: Biopsychology
Sunday, January 16, 2022 8:41 PM
Neural Communication
- glia generally play supporting roles, the communication between neurons is
fundamental to all of the functions associated with the nervous system.
Neuronal communication is made possible by the neuron’s specialized
structures, like the soma, dendrites, axons, terminal buttons, and synaptic
vesicles.
- Neurons
○ Nervous system
○ Glial cells- outnumber neurons 10 to 1, provide physical and
metabolic support to neurons
○ Neurons- interconnected info processors
- Neuron structure
○ Semipermeable membrane- outside surface
○ Cell body (soma)
○ The nucleus of the neuron is located in the soma, or cell body.
The soma has branching extensions known as dendrites. The neuron
is a small information processor, and dendrites serve as input sites
where signals are received from other neurons. These signals are
transmitted electrically across the soma and down a major extension
from the soma known as the axon, which ends at multiple terminal
buttons. The terminal buttons contain synaptic vesicles that
house neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers of the nervous
system.
○ Axons range in length from a fraction of an inch to several feet. In
some axons, glial cells form a fatty substance known as the myelin
sheath, which coats the axon and acts as an insulator, increasing the
speed at which the signal travels
○ The synapse is a very small space between two neurons and is an
important site where communication between neurons occurs.
○ Receptors, proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters
attach, vary in shape, with different shapes “matching” different
neurotransmitters.
○ The neurotransmitter and the receptor have what is referred to as a
lock-and-key relationship
○ Membrane potential- the difference in charge across membrane
○ Resting potential- between signal, membrane potential is held in a
state of readiness
, important site where communication between neurons occurs.
○ Receptors, proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters
attach, vary in shape, with different shapes “matching” different
neurotransmitters.
○ The neurotransmitter and the receptor have what is referred to as a
lock-and-key relationship
○ Membrane potential- the difference in charge across membrane
○ Resting potential- between signal, membrane potential is held in a
state of readiness
○ If that charge reaches a certain level, called the threshold of
excitation, the neuron becomes active and the action potential
begins.
○ This process of when the cell’s charge becomes positive, or less
negative, is called depolarization.
○ hyperpolarizes, becoming slightly more negative than the resting
potential, and then it levels off, returning to the resting potential.
○ The action potential is an all-or-none phenomenon
○ Reuptake involves the neurotransmitter being pumped back into the
neuron that released it, in order to clear the synapse (Figure 5).
○
Sunday, January 16, 2022 8:41 PM
Neural Communication
- glia generally play supporting roles, the communication between neurons is
fundamental to all of the functions associated with the nervous system.
Neuronal communication is made possible by the neuron’s specialized
structures, like the soma, dendrites, axons, terminal buttons, and synaptic
vesicles.
- Neurons
○ Nervous system
○ Glial cells- outnumber neurons 10 to 1, provide physical and
metabolic support to neurons
○ Neurons- interconnected info processors
- Neuron structure
○ Semipermeable membrane- outside surface
○ Cell body (soma)
○ The nucleus of the neuron is located in the soma, or cell body.
The soma has branching extensions known as dendrites. The neuron
is a small information processor, and dendrites serve as input sites
where signals are received from other neurons. These signals are
transmitted electrically across the soma and down a major extension
from the soma known as the axon, which ends at multiple terminal
buttons. The terminal buttons contain synaptic vesicles that
house neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers of the nervous
system.
○ Axons range in length from a fraction of an inch to several feet. In
some axons, glial cells form a fatty substance known as the myelin
sheath, which coats the axon and acts as an insulator, increasing the
speed at which the signal travels
○ The synapse is a very small space between two neurons and is an
important site where communication between neurons occurs.
○ Receptors, proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters
attach, vary in shape, with different shapes “matching” different
neurotransmitters.
○ The neurotransmitter and the receptor have what is referred to as a
lock-and-key relationship
○ Membrane potential- the difference in charge across membrane
○ Resting potential- between signal, membrane potential is held in a
state of readiness
, important site where communication between neurons occurs.
○ Receptors, proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters
attach, vary in shape, with different shapes “matching” different
neurotransmitters.
○ The neurotransmitter and the receptor have what is referred to as a
lock-and-key relationship
○ Membrane potential- the difference in charge across membrane
○ Resting potential- between signal, membrane potential is held in a
state of readiness
○ If that charge reaches a certain level, called the threshold of
excitation, the neuron becomes active and the action potential
begins.
○ This process of when the cell’s charge becomes positive, or less
negative, is called depolarization.
○ hyperpolarizes, becoming slightly more negative than the resting
potential, and then it levels off, returning to the resting potential.
○ The action potential is an all-or-none phenomenon
○ Reuptake involves the neurotransmitter being pumped back into the
neuron that released it, in order to clear the synapse (Figure 5).
○
