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The extracellular signals that propagate through the extracellular matrix surrounding neurons play a prominent role in axonal development. [32] These signaling molecules include proteins, neurotrophic factors, and extracellular matrix and adhesion molecules. Netrin (also known as UNC-6) a secreted protein, functions in axon formation.
Neurons in sensory systems like the visual, auditory, or olfactory cortex grow into topographic maps such that neighboring neurons in the periphery correspond to adjacent target locations in the central nervous system. For example, neurons nearby on the retina will project to nearby cortical cells, creating a so-called retinotopic map.
Once the neurons have reached their regional positions, they extend axons and dendrites, which allow them to communicate with other neurons via synapses. Synaptic communication between neurons leads to the establishment of functional neural circuits that mediate sensory and motor processing, and underlie behavior. [4]
An axo-axonic synapse is a type of synapse, formed by one neuron projecting its axon terminals onto another neuron's axon. [1]Axo-axonic synapses have been found and described more recently than the other more familiar types of synapses, such as axo-dendritic synapses and axo-somatic synapses.
These neurons contain receptors, called olfactory receptors, that are activated by odor molecules in the air. The molecules in the air are detected by enlarged cilia and microvilli. [5] These sensory neurons produce action potentials. Their axons form the olfactory nerve, and they synapse directly onto neurons in the cerebral cortex (olfactory ...
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.
In neuroanatomy, a neural pathway is the connection formed by axons that project from neurons to make synapses onto neurons in another location, to enable neurotransmission (the sending of a signal from one region of the nervous system to another). Neurons are connected by a single axon, or by a bundle of axons known as a nerve tract, or ...
Multipolar neurons are composed of one axon and many dendritic trees. Pyramidal cells are multipolar cortical neurons with pyramid-shaped cell bodies and large dendrites that extend towards the surface of the cortex (apical dendrite). Bipolar neurons have two main dendrites at opposing ends of the cell body.