Unit 3

Biological Bases of Behavior

 Module 9
Biological Psychology and Neurotransmission
Key Terms
● Biological Psychology ● All - Or - None Response
● Neurons ● Synapse
● Cell Body (Soma) ● Neurotransmitters
● Dendrites ○ Acetylcholine
● Axon ○ Dopamine
● Myelin Sheath ○ Serotonin
● Axon Terminal ○ Norepinephrine
● Action Potential ○ GABA
● Refractory Period ○ Glutamate
● Threshold ○ Endorphins
● Agonist
● Antagonist
Key People
● None
*Action Potential
● A neural impulse
● A brief electrical charge
● Travels down the axon to the
next neuron
*Action Potential
● Ions are exchanged
○ Positive or Negative
○ When these particles move they create electricity = Action
Potential
○ Outside the axon = positive
○ Inside the axon = negative
● Resting Potential
○ The positive - outside/negative - inside state
○ The state of a neuron when it is at rest and capable of
generating an action potential
*Action Potential
*Action Potential
● When a neuron fires…
○ Positive ions enter the axon (sodium)
○ Depolarization each section
○ Dominos
● *Refractory Period
○ Resting phase
○ The neuron pumps the positive ions back outside so it can
fire again
○ Sodium - Potassium Pump
● 100 to 1,000 times a second
*Refractory Period
● The “recharging phase”
● A neuron after firing cannot
generate another action
potential
*Threshold
● In order to fire a neuron, the signal needs to pass a certain
threshold.
● The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
● *All - Or - None Response
○ Neurons either fire or they don’t
○ If a neuron fires it will always fire at the same
intensity 100%
Neuron Communication
● *Synapse
○ The gap between the axon tip of one neuron and the
dendrite of a second neuron
■ Synaptic Gap
■ Synaptic Cleft
● Reuptake
○ Reabsorption of one’s own neurotransmitters