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
16 hours ago |
4.7 / 5 (19) |
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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 ...
Schizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought
Nov 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(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.
Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (19) |
12
(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.
One small step for neurons, one giant leap for nerve cell repair
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
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The repair of damaged nerve cells is a major problem in medicine today. A new study by researchers at the Montreal NeurologicaI Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) and McGill University, is a significant advance towards a ...
Nerve cells live double lives
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (part of the Novartis Research Foundation) have identified a new neural circuit in the retina responsible for the detection ...
New study pinpoints gene controlling number of brain cells (w/ Video)
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (10) |
2
In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which ...
Schizophrenia gene linked with abnormal neurogenesis in adult and postnatal brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
0
Scientists now have a better understanding of a perplexing gene that is associated with susceptibility for a wide spectrum of severely debilitating mental illnesses. Two independent research studies published by Cell Press ...
Stimulating sight: New retinal implant developed
Sep 23, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (19) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Inspired by the success of cochlear implants that can restore hearing to some deaf people, researchers at MIT are working on a retinal implant that could one day help blind people regain a ...
Function of a neglected structure in neurons revealed after 50 years
Sep 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (12) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Fifty years after it was originally discovered, scientists at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Switzerland, have elucidated the function of a microscopic network of ...
Star-shaped cells in the brain aid with learning
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 07, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Every movement and every thought requires the passing of specific information between networks of nerve cells. To improve a skill or to learn something new entails more efficient or a greater ...
Researchers unravel mystery behind long-lasting memories
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 11, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
0
A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine may reveal how long-lasting memories form in the brain.
Epilepsy halted in mice
Aug 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (6) |
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Scientists at Leeds have prevented epilepsy caused by a gene defect from being passed on to mice offspring - an achievement which may herald new therapies for people suffering from the condition.
Scientists discover why we never forget how to ride a bicycle
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (19) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- You never forget how to ride a bicycle - and now a University of Aberdeen led team of neuroscientists has discovered why.
Scientists capture the first image of memories being made
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jun 18, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (21) |
2
The ability to learn and to establish new memories is essential to our daily existence and identity; enabling us to navigate through the world. A new study by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute ...
Scientists discover neurons that 'mirror' the attention of others
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
May 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
2
Whether a monkey is looking to the left or merely watching another monkey looking that way, the same neurons in his brain are firing, according to researchers at the Duke University Medical Center.
