![]() ![]() 2) There is only one axon, but it can split off into branches. A couple of important points here: 1) there are lots of dendrites, but just one axon.This means that each cell gets a lot of inputs from other cells, and it has to turn all of those inputs into just one output. This is how the message gets passed around: axon to dendrite, axon to dendrite, etc. The axon makes a connection with the dendrite of another neuron that neuron receives the information, processes it, and sends it out through its own axon. Okay, this is how a neuron works: information comes in through the dendrites, gets processed in the cell body, and, having been changed by the journey, it leaves through the axon. The cell body is the round part in the middle (in real neurons it is always more blobby than round) and the axon is the long skinny projection that comes out the other side of the cell body. In fact, “dendrite” is Greek for tree, so there you go. The dendrites make up the bushy part on top that looks like the top of a tree. You can see to the right a drawing of what a “typical” neuron would look like (of course, you should keep in mind that there is no such thing as a “typical” neuron!). All neurons have a cell body and dendrites, and most of them have an axon as well. First, let’s talk about what they look like. If I lost you just there, stay with me, I’ll explain. ![]() What they all have in common though, is that they are electrically excitable and they form electrochemical synapses. Now, there are many different kinds of neurons, and they’re all a little bit different so that they can do their particular jobs. So, we know that neurons don’t have lips and lungs for talking, so how do they do all this communicating? That’s why they need those special parts. A spinal cord injury can cause paralysis, a stroke can make it impossible to speak, a traumatic brain injury can change your personality, and Alzheimer’s disease can take away your memories. That’s why injuries and diseases that destroy neurons are so serious. Walking and reading and eating and remembering and being thirsty and feeling happy and seeing and waiting and sleeping and peeing and hoping and even intuition are all based on the persistent chatter of your 100 billion odd neurons. When I say behavior, I mean pretty much all behavior – internal and external, conscious and subconscious, voluntary and involuntary. That may seem like little more than interesting trivia until you consider that the information they’re busily swapping back and forth is the currency of behavior. They do this all the time they’re chatty. They send and receive little packets of information using a sort of code, like Morse code but vastly more complicated. Okay, they don’t literally “talk” to each other, they don’t have lips (or lungs for that matter). Like most of the cells in the body, these cells have a specific job (they are what we call differentiated cells) and they have some specialized parts for doing that job.So, let’s talk about that special job, because it turns out that neurons do something really important: they talk to each other. As I said, neurons are cells, and they have all of the regular cell parts – a nucleus, organelles, a membrane, etc. Since “neural” is a big part of what the CSNE is about, we should probably talk a little bit about neurons. They are still a part of the nervous system, so, when we say “neural”, those guys are invited to the party too. But while most of your neurons are in your brain, “most” is not the same as “all.” The neurons outside of your brain are in the minority, but they perform some critical functions, especially in the context of Sensorimotor Neural Engineering. Your brain houses about 100 billion neurons, which is quite a few. In fact, “neural” means “having something to do with neurons.” Neurons are a type of cell, and the majority of those cells live in the semi-solid, three-pound lump of tissue between your ears and behind your eyes - your brain. If your intuition tells you that the adjective “neural” can be roughly translated as “having something to do with the brain,” then your intuition has brought you very close to the truth (thanks, intuition). ![]()
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