Neurons And Neuroscience
There are over 100 billion nerve cells in your body called neurons, but do you have any idea
what they are or what they do? There are so many of them in your body it only makes sense
to wonder what they are, so let’s take a look at these nerve cells to find out just what they
are.
Neurons are similar to any other cell in your body in a number of ways, except they are
specialized to transmit information throughout the body. Their primary responsibility is to
communicate information, both chemically and electrically. There are different types of nerve
cells that are each responsible for a different task.
Nerve cells that carry information from sensory
receptor cells to the brain are called sensory
neurons. Nerve cells that transmit information
from the brain to your muscles are called motor
neurons. Finally, nerve cells that communicate
information between different neurons in your
body are called interneurons.
Neurons are similar with other cells in many ways.
They both contain a nucleus that holds genetic
information, are surrounded by a membrane that
protects the cell, and contain organelles, such as
cytoplasm, Golgi bodies, and mitochondria, which
support the life of the cell.
Just as there are similarities, there are also
differences. First, neurons stop reproducing shortly
after birth. This means that some areas of your brain will have less neurons then when you
were born because the nerve cells die and are not replaced.
Another difference is neurons have a membrane that is designed to send information to other
cells. There are specialized structures called axons and dendrites that were built to transmit
and receive information. Neurons release chemicals called neurotransmitters between cells on
connections called synapses. These chemicals are what create the communication between
each neuron cell.
Just as an example, imagine that your computer is a sensory receptor cell. Now imagine you
are posting something on the internet, this would be similar to a sensory neuron being sent to
the brain. The sensory neuron, or internet post, travels through your Ethernet cord, or
synapse, and arrives at the brain.
Neurons are truly amazing cells that essentially control our entire body thanks to their
communication with receptor cells and our brain. Hopefully this article has allowed you to
learn the basics of neurons, neuroscience and why they are important. Nerve cells and the
future of brain research is a fascinating field that is starting to emerge and it is fascinating.
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