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An axon (from Greek ἄξων áxōn, axis) or nerve fiber (or nervefibre: see spelling differences) is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action potentials away from the nerve cell body. The function of the axon is to transmit information to different ...
A neuron contains all the structures of other cells such as a nucleus, mitochondria, and Golgi bodies but has additional unique structures such as an axon, and dendrites. [4] The soma is a compact structure, and the axon and dendrites are filaments extruding from the soma.
Myelin. Myelin (/ ˈmaɪ.əlɪn / MY-ə-lin) is a lipid -rich material that surrounds nerve cell axons (the nervous system's electrical wires) to insulate them and increase the rate at which electrical impulses (called action potentials) pass along the axon. [ 1 ][ 2 ] The myelinated axon can be likened to an electrical wire (the axon) with ...
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.
Grey matter, or brain matter in American English, is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distinguished from white matter in that it contains numerous cell bodies ...
Chemical synapses pass information directionally from a presynaptic cell to a postsynaptic cell and are therefore asymmetric in structure and function. The presynaptic axon terminal, or synaptic bouton, is a specialized area within the axon of the presynaptic cell that contains neurotransmitters enclosed in small membrane-bound spheres called ...
The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses such as vision, hearing and olfaction. Being the most specialized organ, it is responsible for receiving ...
Axon guidance. Axon guidance (also called axon pathfinding) is a subfield of neural development concerning the process by which neurons send out axons to reach their correct targets. Axons often follow very precise paths in the nervous system, and how they manage to find their way so accurately is an area of ongoing research.