Nervous system
hideThe nervous system is a network of specialized cells that communicate information about an organism's surroundings and itself. It processes this information and causes reactions in other parts of the body. It is composed of neurons and other specialized cells called glial cells,(plural form glia), that aid in the function of the neurons. The nervous system is divided broadly into two categories: the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. Neurons generate and conduct impulses between and within the two systems. The peripheral nervous system is composed of sensory neurons and the neurons that connect them to the nerve cord, spinal cord and brain, which make up the central nervous system. In response to stimuli, sensory neurons generate and propagate signals to the central nervous system which then processes and conducts signals back to the muscles and glands. The neurons of the nervous systems of animals are interconnected in complex arrangements and use electrochemical signals and neurotransmitters to transmit impulses from one neuron to the next. The interaction of the different neurons form neural circuits regulate an organism's perception of the world and what is going on with its body, thus regulating its behavior. Nervous systems are found in many multicellular animals but differ greatly in complexity between species.
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News tagged with nervous system
Fit teenage boys are smarter, but muscle strength isn't the secret
Dec 07, 2009 |
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In the first study to demonstrate a clear positive association between adolescent fitness and adult cognitive performance, Nancy Pedersen of the University of Southern California and colleagues in Sweden find that better ...
Nerve-cell transplants help brain-damaged rats fully recover lost ability to learn
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Nerve cells transplanted into brain-damaged rats helped them to fully recover their ability to learn and remember, probably by promoting nurturing, protective growth factors, according to a new study.
Scientists: Man controlled robotic hand with thoughts
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A group of European scientists said Wednesday they have successfully connected a robotic hand to an amputee, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial limb and control it with his thoughts.
The 'sci' behind the 'fi'
Dec 11, 2009 |
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As the voyagers of the Starship Enterprise boldly went to explore new worlds week after week on Star Trek, they used a host of futuristic technologies — including tricorders, holodecks, teleportation systems ...
Researchers identify gene that spurs deadly brain cancer
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have identified a new factor that is necessary for the development of many forms of medulloblastoma, the most common type of malignant childhood brain cancer.
Dessert on your mind? Your muscles may be getting the message
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers reporting in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus contai ...
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 ...
Glial cells can cross from the central to the peripheral nervous system (w/ Video)
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 01, 2009 |
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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 ...
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.
Multiple sclerosis successfully reversed in animals
Aug 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) completely reverses the devastating autoimmune disorder in mice, and might work exactly the same way in humans, say researchers at ...
Seeing family for the holidays? Scientists discover how the stress might kill you
Nov 30, 2009 |
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If you ever thought the stress of seeing your extended family over the holidays was slowly killing you -- bad news: a new research report in the December 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that you mi ...
Report Says Musicians Hear Better Than Non-Musicians
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Journal of Neuroscience reports this week that musicians are better than non-musicians at recognizing speech in noisy environments. The finding from a study conducted by neurobiologists at Nor ...
Popular insect repellent deet affects nervous system: study
Aug 05, 2009 |
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The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology say that more investigations are urgently needed ...
Regeneration can be achieved after chronic spinal cord injury
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that regeneration of central nervous system axons can be achieved in rats even when treatment delayed is more than a year after the original ...
One small step for neurons, one giant leap for nerve cell repair
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 07, 2009 |
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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 ...
