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Neurons communicate with other cells via synapses, which are specialized connections that commonly use minute amounts of chemical neurotransmitters to pass the electric signal from the presynaptic neuron to the target cell through the synaptic gap. Neurons are the main components of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoans.
A signal that travels to the NMJ, which innervates muscles, is produced by the release of acetylcholine by upper motor neurons. Acetylcholine binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of alpha-motor neurons. [3] The somatic nervous system controls all voluntary muscular systems within the body, and the process of voluntary reflex arcs. [10]
The two main types of cells in the brain are neurons, also known as nerve cells, and glial cells, also known as neuroglia. [1] There are many types of neuron, and several types of glial cell. Neurons are the excitable cells of the brain that function by communicating with other neurons and interneurons (via synapses ), in neural circuits and ...
A protoplasmic fiber runs from the cell body and branches profusely, with some parts transmitting signals and other parts receiving signals. Thus, most parts of the insect brain have passive cell bodies arranged around the periphery, while the neural signal processing takes place in a tangle of protoplasmic fibers called neuropil, in the interior.
The somatosensory system is spread through all major parts of the vertebrate body. It consists both of sensory receptors and sensory neurons in the periphery (skin, muscle and organs for example), to deeper neurons within the central nervous system. [3]
Some neurons are responsible for conveying information over long distances. For example, motor neurons, which travel from the spinal cord to the muscle, can have axons up to a meter in length in humans. The longest axon in the human body belongs to the Sciatic Nerve and runs from the great toe to the base of the spinal cord. These are ...
This was able to show the intricate structures of single neurons. [244] This was used by Santiago Ramón y Cajal and led to the formation of the neuron doctrine, the then revolutionary hypothesis that the neuron is the functional unit of the brain. He used microscopy to uncover many cell types, and proposed functions for the cells he saw. [244]
Primarily using the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) as a mediator, the parasympathetic system allows the body to function in a "rest and digest" state. [9] Consequently, when the parasympathetic system dominates the body, there are increases in salivation and activities in digestion, while heart rate and other sympathetic response decrease ...