Neuron

Long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) have been long thought and now convincingly demonstrated to be fundamental cellular mechanisms in the brain that underlie learning and memory processes. Indeed, induction of LTP is observed coincidently with learning events in the hippocampus of free-moving animals and this learning-induced LTP occludes subsequent electrical induction of LTP in the hippocampus (Whitlock et al., 2006).…

The brain and body are more alike than people think. The brain sends signals to the body to do things. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from very demanding circumstances. When the brain senses danger, right away, it sends nerve signals down to the spinal cord to the adrenal glands. This tells them to release the hormone called adrenaline. Once this adrenaline is released, it raises a person's blood pressure and increases your heart rate. The hypothalamus…

understand their origin or their impact, the platelets and tangles of proteins that form in the brain appear to be playing a crucial role in degrading neural connections and ultimately killing neurons. Plaques are deposits of protein building up between neurons. Tangled are twisted fibres of protein building up inside neurons. They form naturally as everyone ages, but in Alzheimer's patients the number of plaques and tangles is far greater. Most experts believe their role in Alzheimer's is…

Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers’ comprising of multiple endogenous chemicals allowing neurotransmission across synapses. During the neurotransmission a chemical is released from the axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron fabricating millions of synaptic connections that play a major role in modelling everyday activities. Through the process of staining and stimulations in experiments, researchers have now identified more than 100 unique chemical messenger types which can further be…

new language), memory formation, or as a result of damage to the brain. The human brain contains 100 billion of neurons that are functionally linked to each other and serve as functional building blocks of information processing modules (Wexler, 2006). The building of new neural connections is the lifelong process known as synaptogenesis. Synapse is a space between neurons where two neurons come closer to each other that they are able to pass chemicals…

's made up of two separate systems, the brain, and spinal cord. During prenatal growth, the nervous system experiences many changes to gain its compound structure. The events of this early development include the growing of billions of neurons, axons, and the formation of thousands of synapses. The cells in the nervous system are a special type and continue to grow during the organisms life. There are approximately 100 billion cells in the nervous system.…

glutamate in a culture where there were neurons and astrocytes. After a glucose use by cells, they saw an inhibition of the glucose transport into the neurons and this inhibition was stronger with add of lactate in the culture. This experiment show us that glutamate inhibited glucose transport into the neurons and in consequence inhibited glycolysis, and this is why it become essential for neurons to metabolize lactate as a substrate. So in this case neurons use glucose in the hexose…

Describing the Roles of Sensory Receptors, Sensory Neurons and Specialized Sensory Receptors Sensory neurons are nerve cells within the nervous system that convert external stimuli from an individual’s environment into internal electrical impulses that can be transmitted from one neuron to another. For example, taste buds located in our mouth are sensory neurons that work with olfactory receptors in order to determine the flavour of the food. They are able to do this, in simple terms, because a…

example, behavioral studies have demonstrated that visual acuity is low at the time of eye opening and visual experience is indispensable for its developmental improvement (Maurer et al., 1999; Prusky et al., 2000; Kang et al., 2013). Visual cortical neurons selectively respond with a higher rate of action potentials to particular features of visual stimuli (Hubel, 1982), which is considered to be a fundamental process contributing to visual cortical functions. In the primary visual cortex,…

sensations such as pain and temperature, and circuits that allow your body to move and function. The nervous system at both a cellular and organizational level. Neurons are the primary cells of the nervous system, propagating impulses through both electric and chemical means action potentials and synaptic transmission, respectively. Neurons can be grouped together to form nerves, which are the primary organizational structures in one major branch of the nervous system, the peripheral nervous…