The gentlemen in this video covers the materially clearly and concisely so you shouldn't get too confused when listening.
Before I begin my discussion on Excitatory Presynaptic Potential I want to cover summation and the two different types.
At the beginning of module 3.1 we learn about temporal summation; which is described as being "a cumulative effect of repeated stimuli within a brief time"(Kalat, 2012). Imagine your trying to break a concrete barrier with a sledge hammer. You hit the barrier once, nothing happens. You hit it again and again and again continuously and it cracks. In a sense this happens in temporal summation being that a stimulus is received down the axon of the presynaptic neuron when the the postsynaptic neuron receives that stimulus Excitatory Presynaptic Potential (EPSP) occurs however, the threshold for action potential is not reached. Yet, if more than one stimulus travels down that presynaptic neuron one after the other essentially action potential can be reached.
With spatial summation more than one neuron can be touching the postsynaptic neuron and instead of it receiving stimuli information from just one axon it can receive stimuli from both one after the other which can be enough to cause an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron.
Leslie Samuel gives a more scientific understanding which parallels what our text says about temporal summation and spatial summation.
My reason for choosing this topic isn't only because it interest me; I chose it because it is so important. If Charles Sherrington had never thought about the speed of reflexes and delayed transmission , etc. we probably wouldn't have such a good understanding of certain psychological situations such as depression or drug addiction. It makes me appreciate the science of synapses because without this branch of neuroscience our ability to help those whose synapses malfunction would be limited.
Leslie Samuel gives a more scientific understanding which parallels what our text says about temporal summation and spatial summation.
My reason for choosing this topic isn't only because it interest me; I chose it because it is so important. If Charles Sherrington had never thought about the speed of reflexes and delayed transmission , etc. we probably wouldn't have such a good understanding of certain psychological situations such as depression or drug addiction. It makes me appreciate the science of synapses because without this branch of neuroscience our ability to help those whose synapses malfunction would be limited.
Kalat, J. W. (2012). Biological psychology In L. Schreiber-Ganster & J. Hague (Eds.), Biological Psychology(11th ed., p. 582, 583). North Carolina: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
The video you posted was very helpful. It helped me get a better understanding as to how temporal summation and spatial summation works. It is a very interesting topic you chose. I had never thought so much about how important the speed of our reflexes are. Who woul have known that the speed of our temporal/spatial summation would help us get a better understanding of psychological/medical disorders.
ReplyDeleteYou are very right! The information that many researchers have gained through their research helps all of us in learning more about the disorders of life like drug addiction and depression. It was good to see the information we learn backed up by other sources that see and research the same topic, especially in video form.
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