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Dendrites are one of two types of cytoplasmic processes that extrude from the cell body of a neuron, the other type being an axon. Axons can be distinguished from dendrites by several features including shape, length, and function. Dendrites often taper off in shape and are shorter, while axons tend to maintain a constant radius and can be very ...
Dendritic spines serve as a storage site for synaptic strength and help transmit electrical signals to the neuron's cell body. Most spines have a bulbous head (the spine head), and a thin neck that connects the head of the spine to the shaft of the dendrite. The dendrites of a single neuron can contain hundreds to thousands of spines.
Nav1.6 has been identified in the dendrites of hippocampal CA1 neurons that generate dendritic spikes; the density of Nav1.6 in these neurons is 35-80 times lower than in the initial segments of axons. [7] Distribution of voltage-gated sodium channels along the dendritic membrane plays a crucial role in a dendrite's ability to propagate a signal.
Diagram showing cortical pathways. In general, neurons receive information either at their dendrites or cell bodies. The axon of a nerve cell is, in general, responsible for transmitting information over a relatively long distance. Therefore, most neural pathways are made up of axons.
An axon is one of two types of cytoplasmic protrusions from the cell body of a neuron; the other type is a dendrite. Axons are distinguished from dendrites by several features, including shape (dendrites often taper while axons usually maintain a constant radius), length (dendrites are restricted to a small region around the cell body while ...
Neurons may lack dendrites or have no axons. The term neurite is used to describe either a dendrite or an axon, particularly when the cell is undifferentiated. Most neurons receive signals via the dendrites and soma and send out signals down the axon. At the majority of synapses, signals cross from the axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another.
These cells do have sensory afferent dendrites, similar to those typically inherent in neurons. [1] They have a smooth and rounded cell body located in the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Just outside the spinal cord, thousands of afferent neuronal cell bodies are aggregated in a swelling in the dorsal root known as the dorsal root ...
Once a neuron is in place, it extends dendrites and an axon into the area around it. Axons, because they commonly extend a great distance from the cell body and need to reach specific targets, grow in a particularly complex way. The tip of a growing axon consists of a blob of protoplasm called a growth cone, studded with chemical receptors ...