The Fundamental Impact of a Neuron - Essay Example

Of all the organelles on the neuron, the axon and dendrites are integral parts of cellular communication. The dendrites bring information into the neuron’s nucleus where it is processed and the axon sends out information to surrounding dendrites connected to other neurons. Communication is based on depolarization and repolarization of the lipid bilayer that is myelinated on the axons and dendrites. Charged ions, such as potassium, chlorine, sodium, and calcium, move back and forth between the membrane causing electrical charges to build up which facilitates the electrochemical signal. For the signal to fire and be completely sent, the neuron must reach the action potential. Once the electrochemical signal is sent, it can either cause a release or stop the release of neurotransmitters into the synapses, which are the main communication molecules for neurons. Once an action potential has been reached, there is a refractory period where the neuron has to wait before emitting another electrochemical signal. This refractory period can vary based on how often the neuron is required to fire. On the macro level of study, neuroelectrical signals permeate the brain and other organisms, which is what is responsible for giving humans a slight electromagnetic field.

There are many different forms of memory. As a person gets older, there is an increase in their amount of crystalline memory. This stores general knowledge, facts, etc. In contrast, a person’s fluidic memory decreases, as they get older. Biologically, neural pathways begin to decay and there is an overall decrease in the amount of neuroelectrical activity. Episodic memory has been shown to decrease with age. This is why older people have a harder time remembering specific events. Associative memory or the ability to create neural links between names, faces, etc. also declines. This can also be caused by the brain’s neurochemistry changing as fewer chemical components such as neurotransmitters are produced. One such transmitter, Dopamine, deals with memory. Thus, a decrease in the equilibrium amount of dopamine can lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, a specific condition, which leads to memory loss.

One aspect of the personality of an individual that has a high correlation with its effect on genetics is sexual orientation. The biological determination of sex is based on whether the person has a XX or XY set of chromosomes. However, sexual orientation is not solely based on this as is seen in homosexuality. There is a higher percentage that the genes that encode for the specific hormones of both sexes will produce a heterosexual-oriented individual. This then leads to the nature vs. nurture debate in that some homosexuals claim they were born liking the same sex whereas others claim that it is a choice they have made. Regardless of the aforementioned argument, it is shown that sexual orientation has the highest probability of being solely genetically based. Many personality traits are not inherited but are based on environmental responses such as extroversion. A child that is brought up in a safe, excluded environment with limited social interaction is much more likely to develop introversion. The opposite is where a child is constantly seen engaging with other children and people are likely to develop an extroverted personality. This is the basis for the nurture debate because this personality characteristic has a high probability of being shaped by the environment and interactions, not based on genetics.

Psychology is not common sense. It may seem like common sense because many of the theories apply to one’s life. However, this is after a vast amount of observations and statistical analyses. It is also important to point out that psychology is based on a majority of theories, which are limited to the conditions in which the results are observed. In addition, many of the observations conducted in the field of psychology are influenced by many different variables because human behavior is not constant and is always changing. Many of the variables that impact psychology are epigenetic in origin, meaning that it is a combination of biological, psychological, and sociological characteristics. As a result, it is hard to pinpoint and apply the theories when there can be more than one main effect. Read More