sodium amytal test: anesthetize one hemisphere and check for language function; dichotic listening test: report more digits heard by dominant half; functional brain imaging: fMRI or PET used to see which half is active when performing a language test speech laterality and handedness sex differences in brain lateralization
A typical neuron has characteristic features: a cell body, dendrites and an axon. The axon projects from the cell body and makes contact with a target cell at the synapse. A neuron is stimulated by signals, chemical and electrical, to initiate an action potential (a rapid and reversible change in membrane potential). In the absence of a signal, the resting potential of the neuron is maintained by the potassium leak channels, which allow the flow of potassium ions out of the cell, resulting in a more negative charge in the cell when compared to outside the cell.
A neuron affects other neurons by releasing a neurotransmitter that binds to chemical receptors. The effect upon the postsynaptic neuron is determined not by the presynaptic neuron or by the neurotransmitter, but by the type of receptor that is activated.he fundamental process that triggers the release of neurotransmitters is the action potential, a propagating electrical signal that is generated by exploiting the electrically excitable membrane of the neuron. This is also known as a wave of depolarization.