Neurons: the nervous system's messengers
Key vocabulary, neuron anatomy, and a lab video.
Neurons are specialized cells that receive, process, and send information. Dendrites receive signals, the cell body combines them, and the axon carries an electrical signal outward. At a synapse, chemical messengers pass the signal to the next cell.
Vocabulary
0 of 6 terms explored
Anatomy of a neuron
Select a neuron part to explore its role.
| Part | Basic role | Think of it as… |
|---|---|---|
| Dendrites | Receive signals from other cells. | Incoming branches |
| Cell body | Maintains the cell and combines incoming information. | The cell's working center |
| Axon | Carries an electrical signal away from the cell body. | An outgoing cable |
| Synapse | The connection where a signal passes to another cell, often using chemical messengers. | A tiny handoff point |
Within a neuron, information often travels as an electrical signal along the cell membrane.
This is a simplified model. Real neural communication involves many interacting electrical and chemical processes.
Three Key Takeaways
- 1Neurons are the nervous system's messenger cells, with dendrites that receive signals, a cell body that processes them, and an axon that sends them on.
- 2A neuron's signal is electrical along the axon and chemical at the synapse, where neurotransmitters carry the message to the next cell.
- 3Myelin insulation lets signals travel faster along axons — damage to it, as in multiple sclerosis, shows how essential this structure is.