Chapter 3: What are the Nervous System's Functional Units?

Question 1

What are the nervous system’s functional units?

Answer 1

1. cells of the nervous system
2. internal structure of a cell
3. genes, cells, and behavior

Question 2

what are the internal structures of a cell?

Answer 2

debate in early 1900s

1. golgi
   - the nervous system = composed of a network of interconnected fibers = nerve net
2. Ramon y Cajal
   - NS made of discrete cells

**neuron hypothesis
- neurons are units of the brain

• used goli stain to show the NS was made up of discrete cells = supporting the neuron hypothesis

Question 3

what are the basic structure of a neuron?

Answer 3

1. core region called = cell body or soma
2. branching extensions or dendrites –> collect info from other cells
3. Main root = single axon
   **which carries message to other neurons

–> a neuron has only one axon (but most have many dendrites)

Question 4

What are the basic of information processing: Neurons?

Answer 4

neurons
1. most behaviours = produced by groups of hundreds/thousands of neurons

2. functional groups of neurons/or neural networks **connect wide areas of the brain & spinal cord
3. ongoing effort aims to map structural connectivity
   **the physical wing or connectome of early human brain
4. each neuron’s appearance = distinctive –> neurons are the essence of plasticity

Question 5

What are the major parts of the neurons?

Question 6

what is the information flow through a neuron?

Answer 6

3 basic subdivisions of neurons

1. dendrites
   - gather information from other neurons
2. cell body or soma
   - core region
   - contains nucleus
   - integrates the information
3. axons
   - carries info to be passed on to other cells

Question 7

what are the 3 function of neurons?

Answer 7

1.