![]() The tree’s branches (dendrite, the word déndron comes from the Greek language and actually means “tree”) are the parts of a neuron that receive signals. ![]() Purkinje cell image courtesy of Marta Jelitai, Hungary. However, when they are released from dendrites, their receptors can be far away and need to be reached by diffusion. Neurotransmitters (key) released from the axon terminals only have to cross a very tiny gap (a synapse) D. Some neurons, like this special kind of neuron called a Purkinje cell, look very similar to trees B. The cell body also contains the chemical machinery to produce the neurotransmitters that the neuron uses to communicate with each other. The tree trunk (cell body) stores genetic information (DNA) in a compartment called the nucleus. A neuron has three main parts, the cell body, an axon, and the dendrites ( Figure 1). Neurons come in many forms, shapes and sizes, but it is helpful to think of a neuron like a tree. ![]() The Neurons are the Building Blocks of Your Brain Neurons control literally everything you do. There are many different sorts of neurotransmitters: some stimulate neurons, making them more active others inhibit them, making them less active. Neurotransmitters are like chemical words, sending “messages” from one neuron to another. Neurons talk to each other using special chemicals called neurotransmitters. Eighty billion (80,000,000,000)! This is more than 10 times as many neurons as there are people living on Earth. It has approximately 80 billion nerve cells, called neurons. We know that the human brain is the most complex structure. If we understand how and what neurons communicate with each other, we will have a chance to correct disturbances in communication that may result in altered behaviors and brain disorders. ![]() Neurons have been thought to communicate with each other by passing (“whispering”) chemical signals directly through these connections, but now we know that they also can spread messages more widely (“public announcements”) by releasing chemical signals from other parts of the neuron, including the dendrites themselves. Your brain contains billions of nerve cells, called neurons, which make a very large number of connections with specialized parts of other neurons, called dendrites, to form networks. This is rather like two forms of communication that occur within your brain. Imagine that you want to tell your friends something new you could whisper it into their ears or shout it out loud. ![]()
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