Components and Functions of the Synapse

Components and Functions of the Synapse B. The connection between two neurons is called a synapse, a term derived from the Latin word that means â€Å"to grasp.† The synapse consists of many components that are essential to the flow of information from one neuron to another. Through an outline of these components, we can begin to understand how processes such as synaptic transmission are possible. In regards to our understanding of the synapse, it is important to note the accomplishments of Charles Scott Sherrington and his initial work that first outlined the basic properties of the synapse. One of the properties, reflexes, or automatic muscular responses to stimuli was demonstrated by pinching a dogs leg in his experiments. Sherrington demonstrated that a short delay occurs before the dog flexes the pinched leg and extends the others. This finding is important because he discovered that transmission through the reflex arc is slower than transmission through an equivalent length of axon. This led him to conclude that the delay must occur where one neuron communicates with another, a concept he introduced as a synapse. Sherringtons work outlines other basic properties of the synapse such as temporal and spatial summation. Temporal summation is a concept where a single stimulus (a single pinch) is too weak to reach threshold to produce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. When stimuli occur in succession (i.e., pinching the dogs foot several times), however, the combined effect can be enough to produce an action potential, thereby causing a reflex. With spatial summation, several stimuli occurring at different points on the body combine their effects on a neuron. By pinching multiple places on a dogs body, for example, the combined effect can be enough to produce a reflex. Sherrington work also infers the property of inhibitory synapses. This is a concept where after a reflex (action potential) occurs, hyperpolarization causes the cell to become more negative, therefore making it difficult for another action potential to immediately occur. As technology has improved, so has our understanding of the mechanisms of the synapse. Before we can understand the components and functioning of the synapse, however, it is important to first consider neurons. Neurons have the responsibility of producing all of our movements, thoughts, memories, and emotions. There are four major types of neurons: motor neurons, sensory, interneurons, and projection neurons. Each of these neurons shares a common structure and function. For example, the soma, or cell body, contains the cells nucleus, most of the cytoplasm, and structures that convert nutrients into energy and eliminate waste materials for each of these neurons. This quality is not unique, however, as this is also a component of any cell in the body. The quality that separates neurons from other cells are dendrites, extensions that branch out from the soma to receive information from other neurons, and axons, which extend like a tail from the cell body and carries information to other locations. Branches at the end of the axon culminate in swellings called bulbs or terminals. The terminals contain chemical neurotransmitters, which the neuron releases to communicate with a muscle or an organ or the next neuron in the chain. As introduced earlier, the connection between two neurons is called a synapse, a site where most communication among neurons occurs. To clarify the function and purpose of the synapse, it is important to understand the sequence of major chemical events that occur at the synapse. At the site of the cell body, neurons synthesize chemicals that serve as neurotransmitters, specifically peptide neurotransmitters. The neuron then transports the peptide neurotransmitters to the axon terminals. Action potentials then travel down the axon where at the presynaptic terminal, the action potential enables calcium to enter the cell. The calcium then releases neurotransmitters from the terminals and into the synaptic cleft (the space between the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons). Next, the neurotransmitter binds to the receptor, diffusing across the cleft and altering the activity of the postsynaptic neuron. This alteration also causes the neurotransmitter molecules to separate from their recep tors. Finally, reuptake of the neurotransmitter occurs, recycling neurotransmitters back into the presynaptic neuron. All of these events lead a successful transmission at the point of the synapse. There are different types of synapses used in the flow of information from neuron to neuron. Axodendritic synapses, synapses of axon terminal buttons on dendrites, terminate on dendritic spines, small synaptic buds that cover the surfaces of many dendrites. Also common are axosomatic synapses, synapses of axon terminal buttons on somas. Although axodendritic and axosomatic synapses are the most common synaptic arrangements, there are several others. For example, there are dendrodendritic synapses, which are capable of transmission in either direction; and there are axoaxonal synapses, which can mediate presynaptic inhibition. Also, there are directed synapses, synapses at which the site of neurotransmitter release and the site of neurotransmitter reception are in close proximity. This is a common arrangement, but, there are also many nondirected synapses in the nervous system. Nondirected synapses are synapses at which the site of release is at some distance from the site of receptio n. In this type of arrangement, neurotransmitter molecules are released from a series of varicosities along the axon and its branches and thus are widely dispersed to surrounding targets. Because of their appearance, these synapses are often referred to as string-of-beads synapses. In conclusion, with the initial contributions of Sherrington and with what is known about neurotransmission today, we have been able to outline the basic components and functions of the synapse. The synapse, in turn, is an essential component for the transmission of neurons, which enables the human body to respond to events in the environment. By acting as a â€Å"bridge† between the neurons, the synapse is helping to control human movements, thoughts, memories, and emotions. The synapse is truly a necessary component in the human body.

Emerging Technology Essay

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the advantages of computers/software and the use of computer technology in investigations. Summarize the disadvantages to law enforcement with respect to the advancements of computers. Real cases will be researched in order to understand how computers can be utilized in criminal activities, as well as a case that the use of a computer was beneficial to the prosecution in a criminal case. A final conclusion paragraph will address my personal subjective opinion as to whether these technologies, in an overall sense are a benefit or hindrance to law enforcement efforts. Introduction Since computers have become such a big part of our lives it is no surprise that even criminals now know how to hack into large computer networks. Obtaining electronic evidence may be one of the most difficult types of evidence to recover. Another issue is authenticating this evidence; however with the help of legal standards this evidence is admissible in court today. Even though computers are the most dominant form of technology that is used in a variety of situations, there are set backs to everything and computers are no exceptions as this paper will explain (Forensic Science, n.d.). The Advantages of Computers and the Use of Computer Technology in Investigations In order to paint an accurate picture of the advantages of computers and technology relating to investigation we must start as close to the beginning as possible. This would be when President Johnson in his State of the union Address to Congress in 1968. This is where the President made the announcement â€Å"to bring the most advanced technology to the war on crime in every city and country in America† (Northrop, 1993). It was less than ten months when the congress along with the President, put into law the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. This law created the Law Enforcement Assistance Association (LEAA), to handle and deliver on the promise of the President of technological assistance. During the next ten years the LEAA contributed meanly $50 million to state and local government criminal justice and law enforcement agencies for crime fighting. Otherfederal agencies like the FBI matched the funding as well as local and state governments themselves (Northrop, 1993). To demonstrate the usefulness of computers by police in the fight against crime, this pare to the paper will refer to results from a comprehensive repeated-measures field study that looked specifically at how useful computers are to police in the fight against crime. The study focused on a particular class of computer use, which was the searches for vital information because this is the bulk of computer activity for officers and are valued by the police in their fight against crime. Between 1976 and 1988 the data did â€Å"show a clear improvement in both the use of and benefits from such systems† (Northrop, 1993). The only drawback is that â€Å"the investment in search systems and the promise they hold for improving police effectiveness is badly constrained by inadequate training of patrol officers and detectives† (Northrop, 1993). However, there is a very simple solution to this small glitch and that is to create an adequate training system and put all officers through that training program (Northrop, 1993). The most notable problem facing officers was the chronic lack of information. This spans the range from the police chiefs shortage of information on how to use the departments limited resources to the patrol officers uncertainty over whom to stop and question regarding suspicious behavior. In the 1970’s and early 1980’s, this problem was addressed using a multi-facade management approach and there were big payoffs. The problem of improving how information was provided to police officers in the street or to the detective working a case was harder to fix. They soon realized the only way to specific individuals or cases was the existing records. However, the only means of utilizing those records was to look them up (Northrop, 1993). From utilizing computers in cars so officers could run a license plate and social security number to see if there are any warrants out for the person they stopped, to more advances such as carrying cell phones, GPS tracking systems in cars, crime mapping tools, information sharing between state and local law enforcement, to even sharing information across countries. Technology has come a long way in helping officers and other agents within the criminal justice system do their job. Just a bit more about the advantages of the things mentioned above and time to move on. The most interesting thing is Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which has become a most important tool for law enforcement agencies. GIS, othermapping software and desktop computers now are capable of mapping and data analysis that is way above and beyond what used to be possible with backroom mainframe computers (Rubley, 2011). Another great advancement is the widespread use of everyone using mobile devices. Many officers now use two to three cell phones. The invention of apps has made it easy for everyone to tap a button and instantly retrieve valuable information. Information that used to take several steps to obtain using a browser is now at the officer’s fingertips. Mobile technology is evolving all the time and it is evolving fast, even in the past few years the government has been able to identify a suspect through a facial recognition app on the iPhone, look up a potential jurors social media profile during voir dire, and now they even have real time data streaming to mobile devices which can provide information on a fugitive or get instant news feeds. There is no doubt that computers and technology have taken law enforcement to a whole new level (Rubley, 2011). What Disadvantages Face Law Enforcement with Respect to the Advancements of Computers? One big disadvantage is that there is such a high volume of information being exchanged daily on the internet and while this is a convenient thing for most of us, there are also criminals taking advantage of the opportunity. There is corporate fraud, theft, intellectual property disputes, and even breach of contract and asset recovery issues. These are some of the situations that use computers to commit the crime and use computer forensics to solve the crime (n.a., 2009). An additional disadvantage is making sure that the digital evidence is going to be admissible in court. Since data can be modified very easy, the analyst must be able to comply with the standards of evidence required by law. The analyst must make sure their investigation is fully documented and accounted for. Another real disadvantage is the cost of retrieving the data. Computer forensic experts are hired by the hour and the process of analyzing and reporting the data can take up to 15 hours depending on the nature of the case (n.a., 2009). Other disadvantages are really the same ones facing all users of technology. If the system is down there is no information that can be retrieved. If the user is not trained in using the technological equipment at his/her disposal then this will be a waste of time. If the input of information is incorrect which sometimes occurs because of human error, then that will cause a problem for officers in the long run. The Case Chosen to be researched where the Computer was used to Aid in the Commission of a Crime. 3 NJ Students Charged in School Computer Hacking On April 14, 2010, in Haddonfield N.J. three students hacked into one of the top preforming High Schools. They are now facing charges for attempting to change their grades once they were into the system. The three students are boys, ages 14, 15, and 16 but because they are minors their names have not been released. The Boys were found out when a staff member found one of the boys using keystroke capture software on one of the computers at the school in an attempt to steal a teacher’s password. That student then implicated the others in this crime. The boys were charged with illegally obtaining information and were released to their parents (Associated Press, 2010). This is a wonderful example of how people, who might never have committed a crime in their lives, get ideas about computers as if this is not a crime. They get on the internet, explore places and things that are illegal and never think twice about it because they are either in their own home and feel protected, or they feel that it is easier to get away with computer related crimes and take their chances. There is too much technology and it is dangerous in the wrong hands. People need to realize that especially crime on the internet will always be solved sooner or later because what you do on a computer leaves a print forever that can never be erased. Research Case Where a Computer was Beneficial to the Prosecution in a Criminal Case In this case a woman age 45, named Sonia Martin, from Nigeria and Chicago, Illinois was â€Å"manager of a Chicago cell in one of the most sophisticated and organized computer hacking and ATM cash out schemes ever perpetrated† (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). On August 12, 2012 she was sentenced to serve two years and six months in a federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wore fraud. She will also serve five years of supervised release and $89,120.25 in restitution fees (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). According the United States attorney Yates, in November of 2008 a group of hackers obtained unauthorized access into the comp uter system of a company called WorldPay US, Inc., then known as RBS WorldPay, which is a payment processor in Atlanta. The hackers were very sophisticated and used some daring techniques to compromise the data encryption that WorldPay used to protect the customers data on payroll debit cards. These are used by more and more companies to pay their employees. This is convenient for employees as they can use the debit card right away or use it to withdraw their salaries right from an ATM (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). Once they were in, hackers raised the balances and ATM withdraw limits on the compromised accounts. â€Å"They then provided a network of lead â€Å"cashers† with 44 debit card account numbers and their PIN numbers, which they used to withdraw more than $9 million from over 2,100 ATM;s in at least 280 cities worldwide, including cities in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada† (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). The whole thing, $9 million dollars, took less than 12 hours to pull off on November 8, 2008 (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). Throughout the cash out the hackers monitored these fraudulent ATM withdraws in real-time from inside the computer systems of WorldPay. Once the transactions were complete the hackers sought to destroy data stored on the card processing network so they could cover up this illegal activity. WorldPay discovered the unauthorized activity and reported the breach (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). Sonia Martin was working with one of the lead cashers and supervised a cashing crew in Chicago. Martin was given PIN codes, and payroll cards, and then manufactured counterfeit debit cards based on that information. So she handed out cards to her underlings that she recruited and supervised. Together they all withdrew approximately $80,000 from various ATM’s around Chicago, during the early morning hours of November 8, 2008. Martin’s primary addres s is Nigeria (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). This case was investigated by special agents of the federal bureau of investigations. Other who helped provide assistance included; numerous domestic and international law enforcement partners and WorldPay immediately reported the crime and substantially assisted in the investigation (U.S. Attorney’s Office, 2012). Conclusion My belief is that the new technology and computers have really given law enforcement some spectacular tools to do their job. I feel that technology has aided in the increase of incarcerations. Anytime criminals can be taken off the streets or even out of the darkness of their homes where they are committing crimes, this is a good thing. Yes there are some disadvantages that can also be dealt with. The problems of officers being unaware of how to use some of this modern technology can be cured by sending them to some training programs. All officers need to be aware of what evidence to collect when it is possibly on a computer and the chain of custody that this type of technology requires. As technology advances, unfortunately so will the crime that is being committed with that technology. Officers everywhere must be able to respond to these crimes effectively. This is why it is so important for every department to keep up with the fast paced computer technology, cell phone technology and any other technology that will aid in catching the bad guy. References Associated Press. (2010). 3 NJ students charged in school computer hacking. Retrieved June 6, 2013, from abclocal.go.com: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/technology&id=7386890 n.a. (2009). Advantages and Disadvantages of Computer Forensics . Retrieved June 9, 2013, from anushreepatil.ewebsite.com: http://www.anushreepatil.ewebsite.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-computer-forensics.html Northrop, A. (1993). Police of Computers. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from Center for Research on Information: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/71x0h7hb#page-2 Rubley, S. (2011). How Has Mobile Evolved to Help the Investigative Community . Retrieved June 9, 2013, from Blog.Thomson Ruters.com: http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/how-has-mobile-evolved-to-help-the-investigative-community/ U.S. Attorney’s Office. (2012, August 12). Sentencing in Major International Cyber Crime Prosecution . Retrieved June 9, 2013, from FBI.gov: http://www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2012/sentencing-in-major-international-cyber-crime-prosecution

Elimination of Ethnic and Religious Discrimination Essay

The word discrimination can be defined as, â€Å"treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.† One large type of discrimination in the world of today is religious and ethnic discrimination. Religious and ethnic discrimination is when someone discriminates against another person based solely on their religious beliefs or background and their ethnicity. Unfortunately, religious and ethnic discrimination are problems which stretch across the globe and occur in almost every country. One of the most well known cases of religious discrimination was the Holocaust. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, the Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II. The Holocaust was led by Nazi-leader Adolf Hitler; he discriminated and disliked the Jews merely because they were Jewish. Rather than actually getting to know any of them and then judging their character once he was a bit more familiar with them, he made a superficial judgment, decided he disliked them, started to discriminate against them, and eventually led the Holocaust. He merely disliked and discriminated against them because of their religion, regardless of who they really were, that it pure religious discrimination. A well known example of ethnic discrimination is the segregation that occurred in the USA during the 20th century, more specifically the early to mid 20th century. Segregation is, â€Å"the enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment.† Schools, living properties, and even playground are just small few of the large amount that was segregated at that time. Although this delegation is not pleased to say it, there is religious and ethnic discrimination in Tunisia as well. Tunisian singer Salah Misbah says that he is constantly discriminated against because of the dark color of his skin, supposedly having been called names such as, â€Å"a dirty slave†. There are also some cases of religious discrimination in the constitution of Tunisia. It declares the country’s determination to adhere to the teachings of Islam, stipulates that Islam is the official state religion, and that the President be Muslim, therefore discriminating against all who are not Muslim. Also, The Government does not permit the establishment of political parties on the basis of religion and prohibits proselytizing, which means attempting to convert someone to your faith, by non-Muslims. Tunisia recognizes that discrimination of any kind is wrong, especially these two, and, for that reason welcomes the possible solutions to this problem. Although religious and ethnic discrimination may seem like a difficult problem to handle, there are solutions. Unjust discrimination of any kind can normally be linked with poor education. If children are taught well about other traditions, religions, and cultures they are less likely to discriminate against people of those backgrounds. Another, slightly harsher, possible solution could be for the government to adopt a no-tolerance policy in relation to religious and racial crimes. Out of fear of being punished, it might dissuade those who are inclined to commit religious and racial crimes. In conclusion, if the necessary education is given, and laws or tolerance polices set in place, it may decrease the amount of religious and ethnic discrimination around the globe. Unfortunately, try as we might it seems as if religious and ethnic discrimination are problems which may never be fully and completely eliminated and eradicated, but that will not stop Tunisia, and hopefully the rest of the UN, from trying our best to do so! Sources: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discrimination http://www.politicsforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=124377 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90222.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/segregation

Chomsky and Skinner and Theories Of Language Development...

Chomsky and Skinner and Theories Of Language Development Many psychologists have studied and researched into how we acquire language. Some have concluded that the ability to learn language is a genetically inherited skill. Others believe that language is learned following birth and is due to environmental factors. This is part of the nature vs. nurture debate. One of the main psychologists who supported the nurture side was B.F Skinner. Skinner is an empiricist. He put forward the idea that children learn language because of the influence of the environment. Skinner believed that parents would provide more attention and pleasurable reactions when the infant made correct sounds or†¦show more content†¦For example, Please make me a jam sandwich The surface structure implies that you can be turned into a jam sandwich. The deep structure refers to the real meaning, which is please would you make me a jam sandwich from bread and jam. Individual languages use different sounds and have special rules of grammar. Chomsky called these individual rule surface structures. And believed that all languages have the same underlying rules or structures and these deep structures are something that babies are born to recognise. The nature-nurture debate on language is inconclusive. In my opinion it seems likely that learning language has elements of both nature and nurture. I believe there is some genetic influence on language development but also childrens experiences after birth are very important to their development of language. I think Chomskys is correct in the sense of the ability to learn language by a built in or genetic factor. But I believe that the actual sounds, words and grammar that children learn will depend on their environment. The speed at which children learn will also be influenced by their environment. 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