Related topics: brain
Neuron
hideA neuron (pronounced /ˈnjʊərɒn/ N(Y)OOR-on, also known as a neurone or nerve cell) is an excitable cell in the nervous system that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signalling. Neurons are the core components of the brain, the vertebrate spinal cord, the invertebrate ventral nerve cord, and the peripheral nerves. A number of specialized types of neurons exist: sensory neurons respond to touch, sound, light and numerous other stimuli affecting cells of the sensory organs that then send signals to the spinal cord and brain. Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord and cause muscle contractions and affect glands. Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons within the same region of the brain or spinal cord. Neurons respond to stimuli, and communicate the presence of stimuli to the central nervous system, which processes that information and sends responses to other parts of the body for action. Neurons do not go through mitosis, and usually cannot be replaced after being destroyed, although astrocytes have been observed to turn into neurons as they are sometimes pluripotent.
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News tagged with nerve cells
Mathematical model of a simple circuit in a chicken brain raises fundamental questions
5 hours ago |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Web site Neuroanthropology asks visitors to complete this quote, "One of the difficulties in understanding the brain is ...". In addition to the typical facetious remarks, such as "so ...
New source discovered for the generation of nerve cells in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
7 hours ago |
5 / 5 (4) |
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The research group of Professor Magdalena Gotz of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munich (Germany) has made a significant advance in understanding regeneration processes in the brain. The researchers ...
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3 Questions: Suzanne Corkin on the world's most famous amnesic
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
2 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
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H.M., the well-known amnesic patient whose condition helped scientists understand memory and memory impairment, died a year ago at the age of 82. H.M. (whose full name, Henry Gustav Molaison, was disclosed ...
Glial cells can cross from the central to the peripheral nervous system (w/ Video)
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
3 hours ago |
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Glial cells, which help neurons communicate with each other, can leave the central nervous system and cross into the peripheral nervous system to compensate for missing cells, according to new research in the Dec. 2 issue ...
ERK's got rhythm: Protein that controls cell growth found to cycle in and out of cell nucleus (w/ Video)
12 hours ago |
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Time-lapsed video of individual breast tissue cells reveals a never-before-seen event in the life of a cell: a protein that cycles between two major compartments in the cell. The results give researchers a more complete view ...
Study describes new tool in the fight against autoimmune diseases, blood cancers
Nov 30, 2009 |
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A study led by a Scripps Research Institute scientist describes a new, highly pragmatic approach to the identification of molecules that prevent a specific type of immune cells from attacking their host. The findings add ...
Research sheds new light on epilepsy
Nov 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Pioneering research using human brain tissue removed from people suffering from epilepsy has opened the door to new treatments for the disease.
Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New connections begin to form between brain cells almost immediately as animals learn a new task, according to a study published this week in Nature. Led by researchers at the University of Cal ...
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