Science Snippet: Get to Know Your Nerve Cells!
Nerve cells, also known as neurons, carry information through our bodies using electrical impulses and chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. A nerve cell’s size and shape depend on its role and location, but nearly all nerve cells have three main parts:
Dendrites that extend like branches and receive signalsA cell body containing the nucleus that holds the genetic material of the cell and controls its actionsAn axon, a long structure that transmits messages
A typical nerve cell. Credit: iStock.
The human body contains billions of interconnected nerve cells that carry information to, within, and from the brain. Nerve cells are required for perceiving our surroundings and responding to them. For example, if you accidentally touch a thorn, you draw your hand back without even thinking about it, thanks to some complex nerve cell choreography. First, receptors in the skin detect the thorn and stimulate the dendrites of surrounding sensory nerve cells. In each of these cells, the dendrites send an electrical impulse to the cell body, which passes the signal on to the axon.
Once the electrical impulse reaches the end of the axon, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the small gap, or synapse, between the axon and a neighboring cell’s dendrites. The neurotransmitters cause an electrical response in the neighboring cell, which transmits the signal to the next cell in the chain. This process continues until the signal reaches the spinal cord, wh...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Cellular Processes Science Snippet Source Type: blogs
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