"The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa."
Nerve cells used for communication in the brain and nervous system.
Neuroanatomy: The study of the structure and organization of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
Neuronal communication: The process by which neurons transmit information to one another via chemical and electrical signals.
Neuroplasticity: The brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience and learning.
Neurodevelopment: The study of the growth and development of neurons and the nervous system from conception to adulthood.
Neuronal disorders: Diseases and conditions that affect the function of neurons, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease.
Neural circuits: Networks of neurons that interact with one another to carry out specific functions.
Sensory perception: How the brain processes information from the senses, such as vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Motor function: How the nervous system controls movement and coordination of muscles.
Learning and memory: How the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information over time.
Emotion and motivation: The role of the brain in regulating emotional responses and motivation for behavior.
Neuropsychology: The study of how brain damage or dysfunction affects cognition and behavior.
Neurochemistry: The study of the chemical processes and neurotransmitters involved in neuronal communication.
Neuroimaging: Techniques for visualizing the structure and activity of the brain, including CT, MRI, fMRI, and PET.
Neural engineering: The use of engineering principles to develop and improve technologies for interacting with and manipulating the nervous system.
Artificial intelligence and neural networks: The use of machine learning algorithms that mimic the structure and function of neurons to perform complex tasks.
Sensory neurons: These neurons are responsible for transmitting information from sensory receptors to the central nervous system (CNS). They detect different types of stimuli, such as light, sound, temperature, and pressure.
Motor neurons: These neurons transmit information from the CNS to muscles and glands, allowing for movement and secretion.
Interneurons: These neurons are responsible for communicating between other neurons in the CNS, allowing for complex processing of information.
Pyramidal neurons: These are large neurons found in the cerebral cortex, and are responsible for cognitive functions, such as learning and memory.
Purkinje cells: These are large neurons found in the cerebellum, and are responsible for motor coordination and balance.
Granule cells: These are small neurons found in the hippocampus, and are responsible for memory and learning.
Bipolar cells: These are specialized neurons found in the retina, and are responsible for transmitting visual information from photoreceptor cells to the brain.
Motor endplate cells: These neurons are found in the neuromuscular junction and are responsible for transmitting neural signals to muscles.
Dopaminergic neurons: These are neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is involved in reward and motivation.
Serotonergic neurons: These are neurons that produce the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is involved in mood regulation and sleep.
Nociceptors: These are sensory neurons that detect pain and transmit signals to the CNS.
Cholinergic neurons: These are neurons that use the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in memory and attention.
Noradrenergic neurons: These are neurons that produce the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which is involved in stress response and attention.
GABAergic neurons: These are neurons that use the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is involved in inhibitory processes in the brain.
"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."