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Structure of a typical neuron with Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. Neurons are highly specialized for the processing and transmission of cellular signals. Given the diversity of functions performed in different parts of the nervous system, there is a wide variety in their shape, size, and electrochemical properties.
Neuromorphology (from Greek νεῦρον, neuron, "nerve"; μορφή, morphé, "form"; -λογία, -logia, “study of” [1] [2]) is the study of nervous system form, shape, and structure. The study involves looking at a particular part of the nervous system from a molecular and cellular level and connecting it to a physiological and ...
Ramón y Cajal was also the first person to propose the physiological role of increasing the receptive surface area of the neuron. The greater the pyramidal cell's surface area, the greater the neuron's ability to process and integrate large amounts of information. Dendritic spines are absent on the soma, while the number increases away from it ...
Neuron shape and structure, such as dendritic/axonal arborization, axonal geometry, synaptic contacts and soma location, is used for neuronal type classification. In acute slice preparations or in vivo the laminar position is noted as it has important functional consequences as well.
Cortical interneurons vary in shape, molecular make-up, and electrophysiology; they function collectively to maintain the balance between excitation and inhibition in the cortex primarily through the use of GABA. Disruption of this balance is a common feature of neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
These groups include both sensory fibers and motor fibers. Another classification groups only the sensory fibers as Type I, Type II, Type III, and Type IV. 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 ...
A command neuron is a special type of identified neuron, defined as a neuron that is capable of driving a specific behavior individually. [37] Such neurons appear most commonly in the fast escape systems of various species—the squid giant axon and squid giant synapse , used for pioneering experiments in neurophysiology because of their ...
In a synapse, the neuron that sends the signal is the presynaptic neuron and the target cell receives that signal is the postsynaptic neuron or cell. Synapses can be either electrical or chemical. Electrical synapses are characterized by the formation of gap junctions that allow ions and other organic compound to instantaneously pass from one ...