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Structure of a typical neuron Neurons are highly specialized for the processing and transmission of cellular signals. Given their diversity of functions performed in different parts of the nervous system, there is a wide variety in their shape, size, and electrochemical properties.
In some types of neurons, the entire up-and-down cycle takes place in a few thousandths of a second. In muscle cells, a typical action potential lasts about a fifth of a second. In plant cells, an action potential may last three seconds or more. [4] The electrical properties of a cell are determined by the structure of its membrane.
Anatomical terminology. [ edit on Wikidata] In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes that impact the body, then works in tandem with the endocrine ...
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses called action potentials that are transmitted along each of the axons to ...
Structure of a typical neuron A neuron (also known as a neurone or nerve cell) is an excitable cell in the nervous system that processes and transmits information by electrochemical signaling. Neurons are the core components of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.
The brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord, comprises the central nervous system. It consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. The brain controls most of the activities of the body, processing, integrating, and coordinating the information it receives from the sensory nervous system.
Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body. At a chemical synapse, one neuron releases neurotransmitter molecules into a small space (the ...
Four types of sensory neuron. Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded receptor potentials. [ 1 ] This process is called sensory transduction. The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in the dorsal ...