3.1 - Neurons - The Origin of Behaviour Flashcards
How was the appearance of Neurons first discovered/seen?
Through the use of Golgi-staining.
What was surprisingly revealed about neurons through Golgi-Staining?
The threads of each neuron don’t actually touch other neurons
What are the three basic parts of a neuron?
Cell body
Axon
Dendrites
What’s a cell body?
The part of a neuron that coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive.
What’s housed inside the Cell Body?
The nucleus, which houses chromosomes which contain your DNA!
What do Dendrites do?
Receive information from other neurons and relay it to the cell body.
The part of a neuron that carries information to other neurons, muscles, or glands (NOT RECEIVE)
Axon
What is an Axon covered by?
Myelin Sheath; an insulating layer of fatty material
What is Myelin Sheath composed of?
Glial Cells (Greek for “glue”)
Support cells found in the Nervous System
MS is the deterioration of Myelin Sheath, which prevents neurons from being able to transfer information between each other
What’s a Synapse?
The junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another.
What are the three major types of Neurons?
Sensory
Motor
Interneurons
Neurons that connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons.
Interneurons
Neurons that receive information from the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord.
Sensory
Neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement.
Motor
Describe a “Purkinje Cell”
A type of interneuron that carries information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain and the spinal cord.
These neurons have dense, elaborate dendrites that resemble bushes
