Neuron

A specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits information through electrical signals and chemical communication at synapses. Its branching extensions allow it to connect with other neurons and target cells.

Action potential: A brief, propagating change in a cell membrane’s voltage that carries signals along excitable cells. This electrical impulse travels along a neuron’s axon to its output sites.
Neuron doctrine: The principle that the nervous system is composed of discrete cells that communicate at specialized junctions. It establishes neurons as distinct cellular units rather than parts of a continuous network.
Sensory neuron: A neuron that carries information from sensory receptors toward the central nervous system. It converts stimuli detected by receptors into signals entering neural circuits.
Santiago Ramón y Cajal: A Spanish neuroscientist whose anatomical studies helped establish the neuron doctrine. His drawings of nervous tissue revealed discrete neurons and their branching forms.
Synapse: A specialized junction through which one cell communicates with another. Neurons pass signals to other cells at these junctions.
Cell membrane: A selectively permeable boundary that separates a cell’s interior from its surroundings. Its ion-selective barrier makes neuronal electrical signaling possible.
Motor neuron: A neuron that transmits commands from the central nervous system to muscles or glands. Its output can activate muscle fibers and produce movement.
Camillo Golgi: An Italian physician who developed a silver-staining method that reveals individual nerve cells. His staining technique exposed neuronal structures, though he favored a continuous-network theory.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger released by cells to alter the activity of target cells. Neurons use these molecules to transmit signals across many synapses.
Ion channel: A membrane protein that allows selected ions to cross a cell membrane. Voltage- and ligand-gated channels create the currents underlying neuronal signals.

Linked from 42 pages