What is Neuron ?

Neurons quickly and precisely send signals as electrochemical waves along axons to other cells. There are two types of neurons, sensory neurons and motor neurons.

Sensory neurons change light, touch and sound into neural signals which are sent back to our CNS to help our body understand and react to its surroundings.

Sensory neurons change light, touch and sound into neural signals which are sent back to our CNS to help our body understand and react to its surroundings.

Motor neurons transmit neural signals to activate muscles or glands for specific action.

Amazingly there are approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain. There are as many neurons in the human brain as stars in the Milky Way.

Our spinal cord has about 13.5 million neurons.

Amazingly an octopus brain has about 300 billion neurons making it so intelligent!

Each single brain neuron has from 1,000 to 10,000 connections with other neurons, making up to 10 trillion neuron connections possible.

A piece of brain tissue just the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses.

There are as many as 10,000 specific types of neurons in the brain for specific functions.

Amazingly neurons develop at the rate of 250,000 neurons per minute during early pregnancy.

A stimulating environment for a child can make the difference between a 25% greater ability to learn or 25% less in an environment with little stimulation.

Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.

Humans continue to make new neurons throughout life in response to mental activity.

Brain messages travel between neurons in just one thousandth of a second.

Information through neurons can be transmitted as slowly as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.

While awake, our brain neurons generate between 10 and 25 watts of power or enough energy to power a light bulb.

Nerves in our body are vulnerable to both physical damage and damage through diseases. Damage to nerves can cause great pain, loss of feeling, or loss of muscle control.

Alcohol interferes with brain processes by weakening connections between neurons by damaging the connective tissue at the end of neurons.

Most amazing thing is that the brain in our head isn’t our only brain. There’s a “second brain” in our intestines that contain 100,000 neurons. Gut bacteria are responsible for making over 30 neurotransmitters including the “happy molecule” serotonin.

Every person’s body contains billions of nerve cells (neurons). There are about 100 billion in the brain and 13.5 million in the spinal cord. The body’s neurons take up and send out electric and chemical signals (electrochemical energy) to other neurons.

Neurons receive signals in a short antennae-like part called the dendrite, and send signals to other neurons with a long cable-like part called the axon. An axon can be up to a meter long.

In some neurons, axons are covered with a thin layer of fat called myelin, which acts as an insulator. It helps transmit nerve signals, or impulses, down a long axon. The main part of a neuron is called the cell body. It contains all of the important parts of the cell that allow it to function properly.

Neurons come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on where they’re located in the body and what they’re programmed to do. Sensory neurons have dendrites on both ends and are connected by a long axon that has a cell body in the middle. Motor neurons have a cell body on one end and dendrites on the other end, with a long axon in the middle.

The human nervous system is divided into two parts. They are distinguished by their location in the body and include the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).