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
Tiny molecule slows progression of Lou Gehrig's disease in mice
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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ...
Finding the Achilles' heel of cancer
14 hours ago |
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A never-approved drug developed to prevent the death of nerve cells after a stroke can efficiently kill cancer cells while keeping normal cells healthy and intact, an international team led by a Tel Aviv University ...
Researchers show brain waves can 'write' on a computer in early tests
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Fla., have demonstrated how brain waves can be used to type alphanumerical characters on a computer screen. By merely focusing on the "q" in a matrix of letters, ...
Mathematical model of a simple circuit in a chicken brain raises fundamental questions
Dec 01, 2009 |
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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 clues emerge for understanding morphine addiction
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Scientists are adding additional brush strokes to the revolutionary new image now emerging for star-shaped cells called astrocytes in the brain and spinal cord. Their report, which suggests a key role for ...
Green tea chemical combined with another may hold promise for treatment of brain disorders
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein ...
Lifelong memories linked to stable nerve connections
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Our ability to learn new information and adapt to changes in our daily environment, as well as to retain lifelong memories, appears to lie in the minute junctions where nerve cells communicate, according to ...
Nervy research: Researchers take initial look at ion channels in a model system
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Before one of your muscles can twitch, before the thought telling it to flex can race down your nerve, a tiny floodgate of sorts -- called an ion channel -- must open in the surface of each cell in these organs ...
New source discovered for the generation of nerve cells in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 01, 2009 |
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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 ...
Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Schizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia.
New discovery about the formation of new brain cells
Nov 23, 2009 |
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The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through ...
Two molecules affecting brain plasticity
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- You wouldn't want a car with no brakes. It turns out that the developing brain needs them, too.
Chicken pox vaccine reduces shingles risk in kids -- study of 172,000 kids used EHRs
Dec 04, 2009 |
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Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.
New Down syndrome treatment suggested by study in mice
Nov 18, 2009 |
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At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences ...
