2301 - Chapter 3 - Neurons

Neuron Theory

y Cajal; Neurons are the functional units of the nervous system

3 basic parts of neurons and their functions

• dendrites gather information

• cell bodies or soma integrate it

  • through excitatory and inhibitory info, they decide if changes in activity will occur or not

• axon passes info to the next neuron

How long do neurons last

all your life, only a few are replaced

Endoscopes

tiny microscopes that can be implanted in the brain to view the structure and activity of its neurons.

What are the basis of neuronal informational processing? How does it produce behaviour?

Neurons acquire information, store it as a memory, interpret it and pass the information along to other neurons to produce behavior. 

What functions do neurons control?

• Body processes (breathing, heartbeat, body temperature)

• Cognitive processes (learning, decision making and thought)

Connectome

Map of physical wiring of entire human brain

Neural networks

Connect wide areas of the brain and spinal cord

How many dendrites can a neuron have?

Up to 20

Dendritic spines

They receive information from other cells’ axons. Dendritic spines increase the number of connection points.

Axon hillock

Specialized part of the cell body (or soma) of a neuron that connects to the axon.

Neuromorphic computing

Large scale computer construction principle seeking to emulate the structure and operational elements of the human brain.

Where can we find a unipolar somatosensory neuron?

In the spinal cord, in the dorsal root ganglion

Where can we find a bipolar sensory neuron?

In the retina (eye)

How do bipolar neurons work in the retina?

They transmit afferent sensory information from the retina’s light receptors to the neurons that carry information into the brain’s visual centers