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
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.
Heavy metal paradox could point toward new therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 30, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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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 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 ...
Auditory illusion: How our brains can fill in the gaps to create continuous sound
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 25, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
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. ...
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 ...
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.
Researchers identify dominant chemical that attracts mosquitoes to humans
Oct 26, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (18) |
5
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus ...
You can control your Marilyn Monroe neuron
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 22, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (26) |
12
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a scientific first, researchers have been able to demonstrate the ability of humans to control the activity of individual brain cells.
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
Brain maps help guide you through large-scale space, researchers find
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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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) |
1
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 ...
Team reports major step forward in cell reprogramming
Oct 08, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (18) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases ...
Function of a neglected structure in neurons revealed after 50 years
Sep 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (12) |
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(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 ...
