Chapter 2
Cognitive Science: The study of human thought, using all available scientific techniques and
including all relevant scientific disciplines for exploring and investigating cognition.
Nervous System Cells
Neurons
–The basic building block of the brain and the entire nervous system. A neuron is a
cell that is specialized for receiving and transmitting a neural impulse.
Glia
–Glia support the neurons in many ways.
•They provide insulation, and remove waste products and foreign bodies.
•They are 1/10th the size of the neurons, but about 10 times as numerous.
Anatomy of a neuron
–Neurons have a variety of shapes, but they all have 3 basic parts.
•A cell body that contains the nucleus and most of the organelles.
•The dendrites - branching structures that receive transmissions from other
neurons.
•The axon - a single, long, thin fiber with branching tips.
Axons
–The axon sends electrochemical messages to neighboring cells.
•Many axons have a coating of myelin, which speeds up transmission.
Synapses: The region where the axon terminals of one neuron and the dendrites of another come
together is the synapse.
Neurons and communication
–Neurons are cells that receive and transmit information electrochemically.
•Sensory neurons carry information from sense organs to the central
nervous system.
•Neurons in the CNS process information, interpret it, and send commands
to muscles, glands, and organs.
