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 neurons
Heavy metal paradox could point toward new therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 30, 2009 |
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New discoveries have been made about how an elevated level of lead, which is a neurotoxic heavy metal, can slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease - findings that could point the way ...
Scientists find clue to mystery of biological clock
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 30, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
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How does our biological system know that it is supposed to operate on a 24-hour cycle? Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that a tiny molecule holds the clue to the mystery.
Auditory illusion: How our brains can fill in the gaps to create continuous sound
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
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It is relatively common for listeners to "hear" sounds that are not really there. In fact, it is the brain's ability to reconstruct fragmented sounds that allows us to successfully carry on a conversation in a noisy room. ...
Scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have uncovered evidence of a primitive emotion-like behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Their findings, which may be relevant to the relationship betwee ...
Polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids boost the birth of new neurons
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Universitat Autňnoma de Barcelona (UAB, Spain) researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, patented as an LMN diet, helps boost the production of the brain's stem cells ...
Pushing the brain to find new pathways
Nov 17, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
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Until recently, scientists believed that, following a stroke, a patient had about six months to regain any lost function. After that, patients would be forced to compensate for the lost function by focusing on their remaining ...
Researchers find explanation for rapid maturation of neurons at birth
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
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At the moment a newborn switches from amniotic fluid to breathing air, another profound shift occurs: nerve cells in the brain convert from hyperexcitability to a calm frame against which outside signals can be detected.
To make memories, new neurons must erase older ones
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
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Short-term memory may depend in a surprising way on the ability of newly formed neurons to erase older connections. That's the conclusion of a report in the November 13th issue of the journal Cell that provid ...
The Link Between Birdsong And Human Language
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
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Scientists studying how Bengalese finches use sets of syllables to communicate are a step closer to understanding how humans develop and use vocabulary. After studying the neural networks in finch brains, ...
Researchers to develop probes to study cellular GPS
Nov 10, 2009 |
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An international group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Goettingen Medical School in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have received a Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) grant ...
Developmental delay could stem from nicotinic receptor deletion
Nov 08, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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The loss of a gene through deletion of genetic material on chromosome 15 is associated with significant abnormalities in learning and behavior, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report ...
Researchers identify drug candidate for treating spinal muscular atrophy
Nov 04, 2009 |
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A chemical cousin of the common antibiotic tetracycline might be useful in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a currently incurable disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. This is the finding of ...
Brain maps help guide you through large-scale space, researchers find
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Lost? Not sure how to get home? Trying to find your way through the mall or an airport? Help is on the way, thanks to a stack of cells, or neurons, in your head. They're mostly on the left side of the brain in males, on the ...
This is your brain on fatty acids
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (6) |
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Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as ...
Circadian surprise: Mechanism of temperature synchronization in drosophila
Oct 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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New research reveals a pathway that links peripheral sensory tissues with a "clock" in the brain to regulate molecular processes and behaviors in response to cyclical temperature changes. The research, published by Cell Press ...
