Handouts on Neuron for the Orientation to Psychology Programme

The Neuron:
The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Cells of the nervous system, called nerve cells or
neurons, are specialized to carry "messages" through an electrochemical process. The human brain has
approximately 100 billion neurons.

Neurons come in many different shapes and sizes. Some of the smallest neurons have cell bodies that
are only 4 microns wide. Some of the biggest neurons have cell bodies that are 100 microns wide.
(Remember that 1 micron is equal to one thousandth of a millimetre!).

Structure of the Neuron:

Neurons are similar to other cells in the body
because:

 Neurons are surrounded by a cell

membrane.
 Neurons have a nucleus that contains
genes.
 Neurons contain cytoplasm, mitochondria
and other organelles.
 Neurons carry out basic cellular processes
such as protein synthesis and energy
production.

However, neurons differ from other cells in the body because:

 Neurons have specialized extensions called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring information
to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body.
 Neurons communicate with each other through an electrochemical process.
 Neurons contain some specialized structures (for example, synapses) and chemicals (for
example, neurotransmitters).

The Cell Body of a Neuron

What is inside of a neuron? A neuron has many of the same

organelles such as mitochondria, cytoplasm and a nucleus, as
other cells in the body.

 Nucleus - contains genetic material (chromosomes)

including information for cell development and synthesis
of proteins necessary for cell maintenance and survival.
Covered by a membrane.
 Nucleolus - produces ribosomes necessary for
translation of genetic information into proteins
 Nissl Bodies - groups of ribosomes used for protein
synthesis.
 Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) - system of tubes for
transport of materials within cytoplasm. Can have ribosomes (rough ER) or no ribosomes
(smooth ER). With ribosomes, the ER is important for protein synthesis.

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 Golgi Apparatus - membrane-bound structure important in packaging peptides and proteins

(including neurotransmitters) into vesicles.
 Microfilaments/Neurotubules - system of transport for materials within a neuron and may
be used for structural support.
 Mitochondria - produce energy to fuel cellular activities.

Axons and Dendrites

Neurons have specialized projections called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring information to the
cell body and axons take information away from the cell body.

There are several differences between axons and dendrites:

Axons Dendrites
Take information away from the cell body Bring information to the cell body
Smooth Surface Rough Surface (dendritic spines)
Generally only 1 axon per cell Usually many dendrites per cell
No ribosomes Have ribosomes
Can have myelin No myelin insulation
Branch further from the cell body Branch near the cell body

The Synapse
Information from one neuron flows to another neuron across a synapse. The synapse contains a small
gap separating neurons. The synapse consists of:

 a presynaptic ending that contains neurotransmitters, mitochondria and other cell organelles.
 a postsynaptic ending that contains receptor sites for neurotransmitters.
 a synaptic cleft or space between the presynaptic and
postsynaptic endings.

Types of Synapses
There are generally three different types of synapses:

 The axodendritic synapse which is the synapse

between the axon terminals of one neuron and the
dendrites of the next neuron. The activity of this type
of synapse usually causes post synaptic excitation or
inhibition.
 The axosomatic synapse which is the gap between
the axon terminals of one neuron and the cell body
(or soma) of the next neuron. . The activity of this type of synapse also usually causes post
synaptic excitation or inhibition.
 The axoaxonic synapse which is the gap between the axon terminals of one neuron and the
axon terminals of the next neuron. The activity of this type of synapse alters the amount of
neurotransmitter released by the terminal buttons of the post synaptic axon.

Supporting Cells
Neurons have a very high rate of metabolism (converting sugar into energy using oxygen and giving rise
to salt and carbon dioxide as bi-products) and no means of storing the nutrients they require, they must
constantly be supplied with nutrients and oxygen or they will quickly die. Thus, a large volume of cells
in the central nervous system are glial cells and Schwann cells that support and protect the neurons

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Glia
The most important supporting cells of the central nervous system are the neuroglia or nerve
glue. Glia (or glial cells) hold the central nervous system together and they also carry out many
other functions. They buffer the neurons, control the supply of the nutrients and some chemicals
they need, they insulate the neurons (by creating myelin) so messages don’t get scrambled, and
they destroy and remove neurons that are killed by disease or injury.

Schwann Cells:
The Schwann cells provide the insulation (myelin) to neurons in the peripheral nervous system.

Information Flow in and across Neurons

Information is sent from the world outside through the senses to the central nervous system
and back from the central nervous system to the body through neurons. Information flows in
electrical and chemical forms. For most part, information within the neuron is electrical in
nature and across neurons, it is chemical in nature.

Electrical Trigger for Neurotransmission

For communication between neurons to occur, an electrical impulse must travel down an axon to the
synaptic terminal.

Neurons send messages electrochemically. This means that chemicals cause an electrical signal.
Chemicals in the body are "electrically-charged" – when they have an electrical charge, they are called
ions. The important ions in the nervous system are sodium and potassium (both have 1 positive charge,
+), calcium (has 2 positive charges, ++) and chloride (has a negative charge, -). There are also some
negatively charged protein molecules. It is also important to remember that nerve cells are surrounded
by a membrane that allows some ions to pass through and blocks the passage of other ions. This type of
membrane is called semi-permeable.

Resting Membrane Potential

When a neuron is not sending a signal, it is "at rest." When a neuron is at rest, the inside of the
neuron is negative relative to the outside. Although the concentrations of the different ions
attempt to balance out on both sides of the membrane, they cannot because the cell membrane
allows only some ions to pass through channels (ion channels). At rest, potassium ions (K+) can
cross through the membrane easily. Also at rest, chloride ions (Cl-)and sodium ions (Na+) have a
more difficult time crossing. The negatively charged protein molecules (A-) inside the neuron
cannot cross the membrane. In addition to these selective ion channels, there is a pump that uses
energy to move three sodium ions out of the neuron for every two potassium ions it puts in.
Finally, when all these forces balance out, and the difference in the voltage between the inside and
outside of the neuron is measured, you have the resting potential. The resting membrane
potential of a neuron is about -70 mV (mV=millivolt) - this means that the inside of the neuron is
70 mV less than the outside. At rest, there are relatively more sodium ions outside the neuron and
more potassium ions inside that neuron.

Action Potential
The resting potential tells about what happens when a neuron is at rest. An action potential
occurs when a neuron sends information down an axon, away from the cell body. Neuroscientists
use other words, such as a "spike" or an "impulse" for the action potential. The action potential is
an explosion of electrical activity that is created by a depolarizing current. This means that
some event (a stimulus) causes the resting potential to move toward 0 mV. When the
depolarization reaches about -55 mV a neuron will fire an action potential. This is the threshold.

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If the neuron does not reach this critical threshold level, then no action potential will fire. Also,
when the threshold level is reached, an action potential of a fixed sized will always fire...for any
given neuron, the size of the action potential is always the same. There are no big or small action
potentials in one nerve cell - all action potentials are the same size. Therefore, the neuron either
does not reach the threshold or a full action potential is fired - this is the "ALL OR NONE"
principle.

Action potentials are caused by an exchange of ions across the neuron membrane. A stimulus first
causes sodium channels to open. Because there are many more sodium ions on the outside, and
the inside of the neuron is negative relative to the outside, sodium ions rush into the neuron.
Remember, sodium has a positive charge, so the neuron becomes more positive and becomes
depolarized. It takes longer for potassium channels to open. When they do open, potassium rushes
out of the cell, reversing the depolarization. Also at about this time, sodium channels start to
close. This causes the action potential to go back toward -70 mV (a repolarization). The action
potential actually goes past -70 mV (a hyperpolarization) because the potassium channels stay
open a bit too long. Gradually, the ion concentrations go back to resting levels and the cell returns
to -70 mV.

Chemical Transmission:
Once the electrical impulse has reached the axon terminals, the message becomes chemical
through the release of neurotransmitters. This chemical message flows across the synapse and
into the dendrites of the next neuron.

Neurotransmitter Mobilization and Release

At the synaptic terminal (the presynaptic ending), an electrical impulse will trigger the migration
of vesicles containing neurotransmitters toward the presynaptic membrane. The vesicle
membrane will fuse with the presynaptic membrane releasing the neurotransmitters into the
synaptic cleft. Neurons can contain and release more than one kind of neurotransmitter.

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Diffusion of Neurotransmitters Across the Synaptic Cleft

The neurotransmitter molecules then diffuse across the synaptic cleft where they can bind with
receptor sites on the postsynaptic ending to influence the electrical response in the postsynaptic
neuron.

When a neurotransmitter binds to a receptor on the postsynaptic side of the synapse, it changes
the postsynaptic cell's excitability: it makes the postsynaptic cell either more or less likely to fire an
action potential. If the number of excitatory postsynaptic events is large enough, they will add to
cause an action potential in the postsynaptic cell and a continuation of the "message."

Many psychoactive drugs and neurotoxins can change the properties of neurotransmitter release,
neurotransmitter reuptake and the availability of receptor binding sites.

Types of Neurons
One way to classify neurons is by the number of extensions that extend from the neuron's cell body
(soma).

 Multipolar neurons have many

processes that extend from the cell
body. In this type of neuron, the
somatic membrane gives rise to one
axon but to the trunks of many
dendritic trees. The multipolar neuron
is the most common type of neuron
found in the central nervous system.
Information communicated from the
multipolar neurons is usually from one
neuron to the other.
 Bipolar neurons have two processes
extending from the cell body – one axon and one dendrite. Bipolar neurons are usually sensory,
i.e., their dendrites detect events occurring in the environment and communicate information
about these events to the central nervous system.
 Unipolar cells have only one stalk, which leaves the soma and divides into two branches a
short distance away. Unipolar neurons (like bipolar neurons) transmit sensory information
from the environment to the central nervous system. This information usually relates to touch,
temperature changes, and other sensory events that affect the skin.

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Neurons can also be classified by the direction that they send information.

 Sensory (or afferent) neurons: send information from sensory receptors (e.g., in skin, eyes,
nose, tongue, ears) TOWARD the central nervous system.
 Motor (or efferent) neurons: send information AWAY from the central nervous system to
muscles or glands.
 Interneurons: send information between sensory neurons and motor neurons. Most
interneurons are located in the central nervous system.

Neurons are the oldest and longest cells in the body! Although other cells die and are replaced, many
neurons are never replaced when they die. In fact, people have fewer neurons when they are old
compared to when you are young. But, data published in November 1998 show that in one area of the
brain (the hippocampus), new neurons CAN grow in adult humans.

Neurons can be quite large - in some neurons, such as corticospinal neurons (from motor cortex to
spinal cord) or primary afferent neurons (neurons that extend from the skin into the spinal cord and up
to the brain stem), can be several feet long!

Important Neurotransmitters and their Function

Different types of cells secrete different neurotransmitters. Each brain chemical works in widely spread
but fairly specific brain locations and may have a different effect according to where it is activated. All
of the major neurotransmitters are made from amino acids except acetycholine. Some 60
neurotransmitters have been identified, but the most important, seem to be:

Dopamine
Controls arousal levels in many parts of the brain and is vital for giving physical motivation. When
levels are severely depleted, as in Parkinson's disease, people may find it impossible to move forward
voluntarily. Low dopamine may also be implicated in mental stasis. LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs
are thought to work on the dopamine system.

Serotonin
This is the neurotransmitter enhanced by Prozac, and has thus become known as the 'feel-good'
chemical. It has a profound effect on mood and anxiety -- high levels of it, or sensitivity to it, are
associated with serenity and optimism.

Acetylcholine (ACh)
Controls activity in brain areas connected with attention, learning and memory. People with
Alzheimer's disease typically have low levels of ACh in the cerebral cortex, and drugs that boost its
action may improve memory in such patients.

Noradrenaline
Mainly an excitatory chemical that induces physical and mental arousal and elevated mood. Production
is centered in an area of the brain called the locus coreuleus, which is one of several putative candidates
for the brain's 'pleasure' centre.

Glutamate
The brain's major excitatory neurotransmitter, vital for forging the links between neurons that are the
basis of learning and long-term memory.

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Enkephalins and Endorphins

These are opioids that, like the drugs heroine and morphine, modulate pain, reduce stress and  promote
a sensation of floaty, oceanic calm. They also depress physical functions like breathing and may produce
physical dependence.

Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)

GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain, allowing more chloride ion to enter the cell
and thus making the membrane less likely to depolarize. Benzodiazepines act by enhancing the effect
of GABA on GABA receptors, whereas caffeine has an opposite effect by inhibiting GABA release.
Barbiturates slightly decrease the frequency of opening, but prolong the duration.

Neurotoxins
Some creatures like spiders, snakes, scropions, bees, mussels, and pufferfish have poisons that
act on the nervous system. These poisons (called neurotoxins) are used by the animals for
protection against predators or for capturing prey. These neurotoxins can cause the action of
the neurons to change by blocking the passage (channels) of certain types of chemicals, or by
activating certain types of channels, or stopping certain channels from closing, etc. This
would influence the way people perceive and respond to the events around them.

References:
Atkinson et al ...

Baron, Robert. A. (2001). Psychology (5th ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India.

Carlson, Neil. R (). Foundations of physiological psychology (6th ed.). India: Dorling
Kindersley - Pearson Education

Coon...

Best, Ben “Brain neurotransmitter” retrieved on July 23 2009 from

http://www.benbest.com/science/anatmind/anatmd10.html

Brain Atlas.org, “Neurological control” retrieved on July 23 2009 from

http://www.brainexplorer.org/neurological_control/Neurological_Neurotransmitters.s
html

Chudler Eric H. (2009) Neuroscience for kids. Retrieved July 20, 2009 from
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

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