neuron

Also known as nerve cell, nerve cells, neurons, neuronal cell, individual neuron

A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is a cell that is excitable, firing electric signals called action potentials across a neural network in the nervous system, mainly in the central nervous system, and helps to receive and conduct impulses. 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.

AI overview

A neuron is a specialized cell in your nervous system that fires electrical signals to communicate with other cells and process information throughout your body. Neurons pass these signals to each other through connections called synapses, using tiny amounts of chemicals called neurotransmitters to bridge the gaps between them.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Neuron.name: Neuron
Neuron.image: Blausen 0657 MultipolarNeuron.png
Neuron.caption: Anatomy of a multipolar neuron

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Research

1,043,944 papers

Neural coding: A single neuron's perspective.ReviewNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2018Azarfar A, Calcini N, Huang C et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.007
Neuron(s)-on-a-Chip: A Review of the Design and Use of Microfluidic Systems for Neural Tissue Culture.ReviewIEEE reviews in biomedical engineering · 2024Buentello DC, Garcia-Corral M, Trujillo-de Santiago G et al.DOI: 10.1109/RBME.2022.3217486
The neuron-level phenomena underlying cognition and consciousness: synaptic activity and the action potential.ReviewNeuroscience · 2008Cook NDDOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.02.042
Glia-neuron intercommunications and synaptic plasticity.ReviewProgress in neurobiology · 1996Vernadakis ADOI: 10.1016/s0301-0082(96)00012-3
Tune it in: mechanisms and computational significance of neuron-autonomous plasticity.ReviewJournal of neurophysiology · 2018Reuveni I, Barkai EDOI: 10.1152/jn.00102.2018
Chromatin plasticity predetermines neuronal eligibility for memory trace formation.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2024Santoni G, Astori S, Leleu M et al.DOI: 10.1126/science.adg9982
Expanding NEURON's repertoire of mechanisms with NMODL.ReviewNeural computation · 2000Hines ML, Carnevale NTDOI: 10.1162/089976600300015475
From form to function: the ways to know a neuron.ReviewJournal of neurogenetics · 2009Meinertzhagen IA, Takemura SY, Lu Z et al.DOI: 10.1080/01677060802610604

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Described at

nomen neuron TAH12802 Unit Page

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Link to a page describing this subject · 40,000 chars · not written by Vinony

Wikidata facts

Image: PLoSBiol4.e126.Fig6fNeuron.jpg

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Commons category: Neurons
Commons gallery: Neuron
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12623
described at URL: ifaa.unifr.ch/Public/TNAEntryPage/auto/unit/LAEN/TAH12802%20Unit%20EN.htm

Sources (10)

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~45 min read

Article

33 sections

Contents

Nervous system
Anatomy and histology
Membrane
Histology and internal structure
Classification
Structural classification
Polarity
Other
Functional classification
Direction
Action on other neurons
Discharge patterns
Neurotransmitter
Multimodel classification
Connectivity
Nonelectrochemical signaling
Mechanisms for propagating action potentials
Neural coding
All-or-none principle
Etymology and spelling
History
Neuron doctrine
Compartmental modelling of neurons
Neurons in the brain
Neurological disorders
Demyelination
Axonal degeneration
Development
Nerve regeneration
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Neurons are the main components of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoans. Plants and fungi do not have nerve cells. Molecular evidence suggests that the ability to generate electric signals first appeared in evolution some 700 to 800 million years ago, during the Tonian period. Predecessors of neurons were the peptidergic secretory cells. They eventually gained new gene modules which enabled cells to create post-synaptic scaffolds and ion channels that generate fast electrical signals. The ability to generate electric signals was a key innovation in the evolution of the nervous system.