"The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa."
The basic building blocks of the nervous system. These are specialized cells that transmit information to other neurons or to muscles and glands.
Basic Anatomy of The Brain: An understanding of the different regions of the brain and their function.
Neuron Structure: Overview of the components that make up a neuron and their purpose.
Action Potentials: How neurons communicate through electrical signals.
Neurotransmitters: An explanation of the different chemicals released by neurons to transmit messages.
Ion Channels: Introduction to the various channels present on the cell membrane and their role in neurotransmitter release.
Synaptic Transmission: How neurotransmitters interact with ion channels to generate postsynaptic depolarization.
Neural Circuits: Explanation of how groups of neurons work together to process information.
Neural Plasticity: An explanation of how the brain alters its connections in response to experience or injury.
Membrane Potential: Overview of the resting potential of neurons and how it changes during depolarization.
Nervous System Disorders: Introduction to common neurological diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.
Sensation and Perception: How the brain processes sensory information into meaningful perceptions.
Learning and Memory: Introduction to how the brain learns and remembers information.
Motor Control: An explanation of how the brain controls movement.
Development of The Nervous System: Overview of the processes of neural development and plasticity during development.
Neural Coding: An explanation of how individual neurons encode information.
Neural Network Modeling: Introduction to computer simulations of neural networks to study the function of the brain.
Brain Imaging Techniques: An introduction to the different techniques used to study the brain, including MRI, PET, and fMRI.
Neuropharmacology: Introduction to the various drugs that affect the activity of neurons.
Neurophysiology: Study of the physiological function of neurons, including their electrical properties and chemical communication.
Cognitive Neuroscience: An interdisciplinary field that studies the physiological process underlying cognitive functions like attention, perception, and memory.
Sensory neurons: These neurons are responsible for transmitting information from sensory organs (such as eyes, ears, nose, etc.) to the central nervous system (CNS).
Motor neurons: These neurons transmit information from the CNS to the muscles, allowing for movement and action.
Interneurons: These neurons are found within the CNS and allow for communication between sensory and motor neurons.
Pyramidal neurons: These are large neurons found in the cerebral cortex that play a role in learning, memory, and decision-making.
Purkinje neurons: These neurons are located in the cerebellum and play a role in motor coordination and balance.
Granule cells: These neurons are found in the cerebellum and olfactory bulb (part of the brain responsible for sense of smell) and are involved in processing and integrating sensory information.
Bipolar neurons: These neurons have two processes, one for input and another for output, and are found in sensory organs such as the retina.
Multipolar neurons: These neurons have multiple processes (dendrites and axons) and are found throughout the brain and spinal cord.
Cholinergic neurons: These neurons produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory.
Dopaminergic neurons: These neurons produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in reward and motivation.
Serotonergic neurons: These neurons produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation and sleep.
GABAergic neurons: These neurons produce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps regulate neuronal excitability.
Glutamatergic neurons: These neurons produce glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory.
Noradrenergic neurons: These neurons produce norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter involved in the "fight or flight" response.
Glycinergic neurons: These neurons produce glycine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in reflexes and motor control.
"Neurons communicate with other cells via synapses - specialized connections that commonly use minute amounts of chemical neurotransmitters to pass the electric signal from the presynaptic neuron to the target cell through the synaptic gap."
"Neurons are typically classified into three types based on their function. Sensory neurons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound, or light, Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control muscle contractions and glandular output, and Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons within the same region of the brain or spinal cord."
"Neurons are special cells which are made up of some structures that are common to all other eukaryotic cells such as the cell body (soma), a nucleus, smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and other cellular components."
"Additionally, neurons have other unique structures such as dendrites, and a single axon. The soma is a compact structure, and the axon and dendrites are filaments extruding from the soma."
"Dendrites typically branch profusely and extend a few hundred micrometers from the soma. The axon leaves the soma at a swelling called the axon hillock and travels for as far as 1 meter in humans or more in other species."
"At the farthest tip of the axon's branches are axon terminals, where the neuron can transmit a signal across the synapse to another cell."
"Neurons may lack dendrites or have no axon. The term neurite is used to describe either a dendrite or an axon, particularly when the cell is undifferentiated."
"At the majority of synapses, signals cross from the axon of one neuron to a dendrite of another. However, synapses can connect an axon to another axon or a dendrite to another dendrite."
"If the voltage changes by a large enough amount over a short interval, the neuron generates an all-or-nothing electrochemical pulse called an action potential."
"Synaptic signals may be excitatory or inhibitory, increasing or reducing the net voltage that reaches the soma."
"In most cases, neurons are generated by neural stem cells during brain development and childhood."
"Neurogenesis largely ceases during adulthood in most areas of the brain."
"The axon leaves the soma at a swelling called the axon hillock."
"Sensory neurons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound, or light that affect the cells of the sensory organs, and they send signals to the spinal cord or brain."
"Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control everything from muscle contractions to glandular output."
"Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons within the same region of the brain or spinal cord."
"However, synapses can connect an axon to another axon or a dendrite to another dendrite."
"Non-animals like plants and fungi do not have nerve cells."
"Neurons communicate with other cells via synapses - specialized connections that commonly use minute amounts of chemical neurotransmitters to pass the electric signal from the presynaptic neuron to the target cell through the synaptic gap."