Although this may not be exactly how these cells act when they’re in the brain, it gives us information about how they might function when they’re in the brains of humans or other animals. Neuroscientists have observed how neural stem cells behave during experiments in the laboratory. Stem cells have the potential to make most, if not all, of the different types of neurons and glia found in the brain. Neurons are born in areas of the brain that are full of neural stem cells, or precursor cells. Most of the brain’s neurons are already created by the time we’re born, but there is evidence to support the theory that neurogenesis is a lifelong process. Many neuroscientists disagree about how many and how often new neurons are created in the brain. How these neurons communicate with each other by making connections is what makes each of us unique in how we think, feel, and act. Within these three kinds of neurons are hundreds of different types, each able to send and receive messages in different ways. Scientists think that neurons are the most diverse kinds of cells in the body. Neurons communicate with each other by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters, across a tiny space called a synapse, between the axons and dendrites of nearby neurons. A dendrite looks like the branch of a tree and receives messages for the cell. The axon looks like a long tail and sends messages from the cell. Within the cell body is a nucleus, which controls the cell’s activities and contains the cell’s genetic material. Everything we think, feel, and do would be impossible without the work of neurons and their support cells, the glial cells called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.Ī neuron has three basic parts: a cell body, and two branches called an axon and a dendrite. They use electrical and chemical signals to send information between different areas of the brain, as well as between the brain, the spinal cord, and the entire body. In some parts of the brain, there are many more glia than neurons, but neurons are the key players in the brain.
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