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Dendrites are one of two types of cytoplasmic processes that extrude from the cell body of a neuron, the other type being an axon. Axons can be distinguished from dendrites by several features including shape, length, and function. Dendrites often taper off in shape and are shorter, while axons tend to maintain a constant radius and can be very ...
An axon is one of two types of cytoplasmic protrusions from the cell body of a neuron; the other type is a dendrite. Axons are distinguished from dendrites by several features, including shape (dendrites often taper while axons usually maintain a constant radius), length (dendrites are restricted to a small region around the cell body while ...
A dendritic spine (or spine) is a small membrane protrusion from a neuron's dendrite that typically receives input from a single axon at the synapse.Dendritic spines serve as a storage site for synaptic strength and help transmit electrical signals to the neuron's cell body.
Many of the extensions are cytoplasmic protrusions such as the axon and dendrite of a neuron, known also as cytoplasmic processes. Different glial cells project cytoplasmic processes. In the brain, the processes of astrocytes form terminal endfeet, foot processes that help to form protective barriers in the brain.
Neurons are electrically excitable cells composed, in general, of one or more dendrites, a single soma, a single axon and one or more axon terminals. Dendrites are cellular projections whose primary function is to receive synaptic signals.
Neurons may lack dendrites or have no axons. The term neurite is used to describe either a dendrite or an axon, particularly when the cell is undifferentiated. Most neurons receive signals via the dendrites and soma and send out signals down the axon. At the majority of synapses, signals cross from the axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another.
The bulb-like end of the axon, called the axon terminal, is separated from the dendrite of the following neuron by a small gap called a synaptic cleft. When the action potential travels to the axon terminal, neurotransmitters are released across the synapse and bind to the post-synaptic receptors , continuing the nerve impulse.
Neural backpropagation is the phenomenon in which, after the action potential of a neuron creates a voltage spike down the axon (normal propagation), another impulse is generated from the soma and propagates towards the apical portions of the dendritic arbor or dendrites (from which much of the original input current originated).