Neuron

Definition

A neuron, neurone, 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.

Related concepts

5-hydroxymethylcytosine 5-methylcytosine AMPA Acetyl coenzyme A Acetylcholine Acetylcholine receptors Actin Action potential Action potentials Active zone Adenosine Adenosine triphosphate Adrenergic receptor Adult neurogenesis Afferent nerve fiber Afferent neuron Agnosia Agonist Akinesia All-or-none law Allen Institute for Brain Science Alpha motor neuron Alzheimer's disease American English Amnesia Analog signal Anaplastic astrocytoma Anaplastic oligodendroglioma Anastomosis Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy Anaxonic neuron Aniline Animalia Anterior horn (spinal cord)Antibodies Aphasia Apical dendrite Apraxia Arousal Artificial neuron Aspartic acid Association fiber Astrocyte Astrocytoma Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor Autapse Autoimmunity Autonomic ganglion Autonomic nervous system Axolemma Axon Axon hillock Axon terminal Axon terminals Axonal degeneration Axoplasm BDNF Basal dendrite Basal ganglia Base excision repair Basket cell Beta adrenoceptor Beta motor neuron Betz cell Bidirectional cell Biological neuron model Bipolar cell Bipolar neuron Birth Bradykinesia Brain Brain damage Brain metastasis Brain tumor British English Bulbous corpuscle Bursting Caenorhabditis elegans Calcium Calcium in biology Calcium signaling Calpain Camillo Golgi Carboxy-lyases Catecholamine Cell (biology)Cell membrane Cell nucleus Cellular differentiation Cellular neuroscience Central nervous system Cerebellar cortex Cerebellum Cerebral cortex Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease Chemical synapse Chloride Chlorine Choline Cholinesterase Choroid plexus Choroid plexus carcinoma Choroid plexus papilloma Choroid plexus tumor Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy Class III β-tubulin Cochlea Cognitive Cognitive dysfunction Commissural fiber Compartmental modelling of dendrites Compartmental neuron models Computational neuroscience Connective tissue Connectome Corpus striatum Cotransmitter Craniopharyngioma Cytoskeleton DNA demethylation DNA methylation DNA methyltransferase Decussation Demyelinating disease Demyelination Dendrite Dendrites Dendritic spine Development of the cerebral cortex Digital data Dogiel cell Dopamine Dopaminergic neurons Dorsal ramus of spinal nerve Dorsal root ganglion Dorsal root of spinal nerve Drosophila melanogaster Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumour Efferent nerve fiber Efferent neuron Electrical synapse Electrochemical Electrophysiology Embryonal tumour with multilayered rosettes Embryonic development En passant boutons Endocrine gland neoplasm Endoneurium Endoplasmic reticulum Energy metabolism Enteric nervous system Ependyma Ependymoma Epigenetics Epineurium Esthesioneuroblastoma Excitatory postsynaptic potential Fibrillary astrocytoma Foundational Model of Anatomy Franz Nissl Free nerve ending Fungi Funiculus (neuroanatomy)G0 phase GABA G protein Gamma aminobutyric acid Gamma motor neuron Ganglioglioma Ganglion Ganglioneuroblastoma Ganglioneuroma Gap junction Gating (electrophysiology)Gene expression General somatic afferent fibers General somatic efferent fibers General visceral afferent fibers General visceral efferent fibers Giraffe Gland Glia Glial cell Glial cells Glioblastoma Glioma Gliomatosis cerebri Gliosarcoma Globus pallidus Glutamate Glutamate decarboxylase Glutamate receptors Glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase Glycine Golgi's method Golgi I Golgi II Golgi bodies Golgi stain Golgi tendon organ Graded potential Granule cell Granule cells Gray matter Gray ramus communicans Greek language Green fluorescent protein Grey matter Group A nerve fiber Group C nerve fiber Growth cone Guillain–Barré syndrome Gut microbiome Hair cell Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz Hemangiopericytoma Hematoxylin Hippocampal Hippocampus Histamine History of neuroscience Homologous recombination Hormone Human brain Human skin Hypothalamus Immunosuppressants Inhibitory postsynaptic potential Insulator (electricity)Interneuron Internodal segment Ion Ion channel Ion transporter Ionotropic receptor Ions John Zachary Young Kainic acid L-DOPA Lemniscus (anatomy)Lhermitte–Duclos disease Ligand Lipid Lipid bilayer Lipofuscin List of animals by number of neurons List of distinct cell types in the adult human body List of neuroscience databases Llinás' law Lower motor neuron Lugaro cell Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor Mechanoreceptor Medical Subject Headings Medium spiny neuron Medulloblastoma Membrane potential Meninges Meningioma Merkel nerve ending Metabolism Metabotropic receptor Microglia Micrometre Microtubule Mitochondria Mitosis Model organism Monoamine neurotransmitter Morphology (biology)Motoneurons Motor cortex Motor neuron Motor neurons Movement disorders Multiple sclerosis Multipolar neuron Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor Muscle cell Muscle contraction Muscle spindle Muscle weakness Myasthenia gravis Myelin Myelin incisure Myelin sheath Myelinated N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid Nematode Neocortex Nerve Nerve fascicle Nerve fiber Nerve sheath tumor Nerve signal Nerve tract Nervous system Nervous system neoplasm Nervous tissue Neural circuit Neural coding Neural ensemble Neural network (biology)Neural oscillation Neural stem cell Neural stem cells Neural tube Neurilemma Neurilemmoma Neurite NeuroLex Neuroanatomy Neuroblastoma Neurocytoma Neurodegenerative disease Neurofibroma Neurofibromatosis Neurofilament Neurogenesis Neuroglia Neurological disorder Neurological disorders Neuromelanin Neuromodulator Neuromuscular disease Neuromuscular junction Neuron (disambiguation)Neuron doctrine Neuronal galvanotropism Neuropathy Neuropil Neuroplasticity Neuropsychiatric Neuroregeneration Neuroscience Neuroscience Information Framework Neurotransmitter Neurotrophin Neurotubule Neutron Nicotine Nicotinic receptors Nissl body Nociceptor Node of Ranvier Non-homologous end joining Non-spiking neurons Noradrenaline Olfactory epithelium Olfactory receptor neuron Oligoastrocytoma Oligodendrocyte Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell Oligodendroglioma Organelle Oxford English Dictionary P2X P2Y receptor Pacinian corpuscle Parkinson's disease Parvalbumin Patch-sequencing Peptidergic Perineurium Peripheral nervous system Photoreceptor cell Pilocytic astrocytoma Pinealoma Pituicytoma Placozoans Plant Plasma membrane Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma Pluripotency Posterior column Postganglionic Postganglionic nerve fibers Postsynaptic density Potassium Preganglionic nerve fibers Primary central nervous system lymphoma Primary motor cortex Principles of Neural Science Projection fiber Proteases Protein Protein biosynthesis Prozac Pseudounipolar cells Pseudounipolar neuron Purine Purinergic signaling Purkinje cell Pyramidal cell Pyramidal neuron Ramus communicans Receptor (biochemistry)Red neuron Renshaw cell Retina Retinal bipolar cells Retinal ganglion cells Retinoblastoma Ribbon synapse Ribosomal RNA Ribosomes Rosehip neuron Saltatory conduction Santiago Ramón y Cajal Satellite glial cell Schwann cell Schwannoma Sense Sensory neuron Sensory neurons Sensory receptor Serotonin Serotonin transporter Sholl analysis Silver nitrate Sodium Soma (biology)Somatic nervous system Somatostatin Special somatic afferent Special visceral afferent Special visceral efferent Spinal cord Spinal neuron Spinal tumor Spindle neuron Sponge Squid giant axon Stimulus (physiology)Striatum Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma Subependymoma Substantia nigra Subthreshold membrane potential oscillations Supraoptic nucleus Sympathetic nervous system Synapse Synapses Synaptic cleft Synaptic pruning Synaptic vesicle Synaptic vesicles TET enzymes Tactile corpuscle Tanycyte Taste receptor Telodendron Terminologia Anatomica Terminologia Histologica Threshold potential Thymectomy Tonian Tonic (physiology)Transdifferentiation Tremor Tryptophan Tryptophan hydroxylase Tuberomammillary nucleus Tubulin Type II sensory fiber Type Ia sensory fiber Tyrosine Tyrosine hydroxylase Ubiquitin Unipolar brush cell Unipolar neuron Upper motor neuron Ventral ramus of spinal nerve Ventral root of spinal nerve Ventricular zone Vestibular schwannoma Visual cortex Volt Voltage Voltage-dependent calcium channel Voltage-dependent sodium channels Voltage-gated ion channel Von Economo neuron WHO classification of the tumors of the central nervous system White matter White ramus communicans Zoloft

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