CNS and neurotransmission

• Hippocampus

  Plays a vital role in regulating learning, memory encoding, memory consolidation and spatial navigation
• Striatum

  Important role in controlling thinking and action
• Corpus callosum

  Bundle of nerve fibres which ensure both sides of the brain can communicate and send signals to each other
• Amygdala

  AmygdalaAmygdala is important in fear and pleasure responses. Feinstein et al (2010): case study of SM, who had focal bilateral amygdala lesions. They were unable to induce more than mild fear in her, and she reported never having really felt fear, but her other basic emotions were intact
• Hypothalamus

  A structure deep in your brain, acts as your body’s smart control coordinating centre. Its main function is to keep your body in a stable state called homeostasis. It does its job by directly influencing your autonomic nervous system or by managing hormones.
• Neurotransmission

  Method of communication used in our nervous system. Each nerve communicates with other neurones by sending out chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters are released into the gap between the terminal button of one neurone and part of a dendrite on another neurone. The gap between the terminal button of one neurone and the dendrite of the next neurone is known as a synapse.
• Synapses

  Neurotransmitters have to cross the synapse from the pre synaptic membrane and be collected by receptor sites on the post synaptic membrane for neurotransmission to take place. Neurones recycle any spare neurotransmitters left in the synapse through a process called re-uptake.