NEURON

A neuron is a type of cell that specializes in processes relating to the brain, such as

cognition, motor movement and sensation (Jabr, 2012). Much like the cells that make up the

heart or liver, neurons are the cells that compose the nervous system. The processes that neurons

mediate are vital to every human’s daily life. These processes are controlled by signals being

sent between neurons, transmitted by either chemical or electrical signaling. In the average adult

brain, there are roughly 86 billion

neurons responsible for all conscious

and nonconscious processes.

Structure & Function:

Neurons, like all other animal cells,

possess a cell membrane and a

nucleus that stores genetic

Figure 1. A basic diagram of the general structure of neurons
information. The nucleus is located (United States Cancer Institute’s SEER Program, 2019)

in the cell body (commonly referred

as the soma). What makes neurons unique is the similar structural shape at both ends of the cell

that allow for constant transmission of signals. At the beginning of the neuron, there are branch-

like shapes called dendrites. Dendrites are areas dedicated to receiving signals from other

neurons and sending them to the soma (Newman, 2017).

Once the neuron is ready to transmit its own signal, it will be sent through the axon. The

axon (as seen in figure 1) is a long tube-like structure tasked with successfully sending signals to

the neurons directly connected it. The axon connects to the soma via the axon hillock. The axon
 hillock is the location that chemical and electrical signals pile up until they the cell reaches its

potential to send a signal. In efforts to conserve the signals being transferred, axons are usually

covered in a fatty substance called myelin. Much as electrical cords are wrapped in rubber to

insulate the electricity, axons are covered in myelin to successfully transmit electrical signals to

the next cell. Areas between the myelin are called the nodes of ranvier and possess many ion

channels pertinent to the process of sending signals.

At the end of neurons lies the axon terminals, the area where all the signals shooting

down the axon are sent to the next neurons dendrites. Even though there is a transfer of signals

from one cell to the next, these cells are, in actuality, not touching each other. There lies a space

between the terminal and dendrite called the synaptic cleft. The axon terminal of one neuron is

known as the presynaptic terminal, as it sends the messages, and the receiving end is dubbed the

postsynaptic terminal. Many neurological disorders are believed to be caused by dysfunction of

their synapses, such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and autism.

Neurons Throughout the Body:

Neurons travel throughout the body,

comprising of the human central

nervous system. As shown in figure

2, this system comprises the central

nervous system (the brain and spinal

cord) and the peripheral nervous

system (all neurons outside of the

central nervous system). These

Figure 2. This is a diagram depicting the nerves and tracts that
make up the human nervous system (Biga et al., 2000) systems are essentially bundles of
axons (these axon bundles are known as nerves for the peripheral nervous system, and tracts for

the central nervous system) (informedhealth.org, 2016).

How Signals are Sent Between Neurons: Signals sent from each neuron are mediated

by the electronegativity of the cell. Neurons have a naturally negative membrane potential

(electronegative charge), resting at -70mV (millivolts). Note that the electrical and chemical

signals that neurons are piled up at the axon hillock of the neuron. These signals released and

shot through the axon when the membrane potential of the neuron reaches a threshold of -55mV.

The process of sending these signals is called the action potential (Bowles & Hayes, 2004). The

following steps for an action potential to occur go as follows (as shown in figure 3):

1) The cell has reached its threshold

and will start to rapidly open

sodium ion channels. Imagine the

sodium as a positively charged

magnet inside the cell.

2) The rapid influx of positive

sodium ions depolarizes the

neuron, bringing membrane

potential to a high positive

voltage (usually between +20mV

to +40mV)

3) After the sodium influx, the

Figure 3. This is a chart depicting the membrane potential
positive potassium ions begin to changes that occur when neurons are sending an
electrochemical signal. (Moleculardevices.com)
repolarize the cell, attempting to
 bring the membrane potential back to resting potential. Basically, as the positive sodium

magnets come in the cell, it repels the other positively charged potassium magnets,

pushing them outside the cell.

4) The rapid efflux of positive potassium ions results in hyperpolarization, bringing the

cells membrane potential below the resting potential (usually at -90mV). This means that

the positive sodium “magnets” repelled too much of the potassium “magnets”

5) The neuron then rebalances its membrane potential and is brought back to -70mV. The

potassium reenter the cell once again.

This series of steps entails how every neuron communicates with one another (Hammond, 2015).

Once the electrical signal reaches the axon terminal, small vesicles (bubbles that exist within

cells) intensely packed with chemical signals are also released at the synapses. These chemical

signals are called neurotransmitters, and every neuron specializes in sending one specific

neurotransmitters. This is how every process in the human brain is controlled.

Types of Neurons: Because neurons are necessary to complete a multitude of functions,

there is a variety of neurons types needed to carry out these functions. There are many ways to

categorize neurons. For example, you can classify by the way neurons receive signals. Neurons

that can receive signals from multiple different types of neurons are dubbed multipolar.

Multipolar cells make up the majority of neurons in the brain. Some neurons only receive one

type of signal and, as mentioned earlier, only send one signal. These neurons are called bipolar

neurons. The last classification of neurons are unipolar which only has the function of sending

initial signals to other neurons. Unipolar neurons are necessary to process sensory stimuli, as

they receive the sensory signal from the world and translate it to an electrochemical signal for all

neurons to relay (Newman, 2017).

 Work Cited

Jabr, F. Know Your Neurons: The Discovery and Naming of the Neuron, 2014. Retreived from

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/know-your-neurons-the-discovery-and-

naming-of-the-neuron/

Newman, T. All you need to know about neurons. Medicalnewstoday.org, 2017. Biga, L.,

Dawson, S., Harwell, A., Hopkins, R., Kaufmann, J., LeMaster, P., . . . Runyeon, J.

(2000). Anatomy and Physiology: University of Oregon. What is an action potential?

Retrieved from https://www.moleculardevices.com/applications/patch-clamp-

electrophysiology/what-action-potential#gref

InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health

Care (IQWiG); 2006-. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK65083/

Douglas K. Bowles, Meredith Hay, Cardiovascular membrane excitability and the influence of

sex and sex steroids, Advances in Molecular and Cell Biology, Elsevier, Volume 34,

2004, Pages 105-114, ISSN 1569-2558, ISBN 9780444514974,

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1569-2558(03)34008-1. Retrieved from

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569255803340081)

Hammond, C., Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology (Fourth Edition), Academic

Press, 2015, Page iv, ISBN 9780123970329, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-397032-

9.00022-4. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123970329000224)

“Anatomy and Physiology” by the US National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology

and End Results (SEER) Program, 2019, Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neuron.svg