BIOLOGY ASSIGNMENT DRAFT COPY

NEURONS

POINTS TO BE DISCUSSED:
 What is a neuron
 Structure of a neuron
 Functions of neuron
 How do neurons work?
 Types of neurons
 CONCLUSION-

WHAT IS A NEURON?
Neurons are the structural and functional
units of the nervous system and the brain.
They consist of a cell body, dendrites, and
axon. Neurons transmit nerve impulses to
other cells. Types of neurons include sensory
neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons.
Neurons are cells within the nervous system
that transmit information to other nerve cells,
muscles, or gland cells.

STRUCTURE OF A NEURON

The neuron consist of cell body, an axon and

dendrites. The other parts are the nucleus,
Schwann cell, myelin sheath and nerve
endings.
Cell Body:
The cell body, soma or perikaryon is the
spherical part of the neuron that contains the
nucleus and connects to the dendrites.
Axon:
Axons are the long projections of very thin
nerve fibre. Extended from the cell body to the
nerve endings. Often gives rise to many
smaller branches before ending at the nerve
terminals. An axon of a motor neuron is 10000
times as long as the cell body is wide.
Dendrites:
Dendrites are appendages that are designed
to receive communications from other cells.
They resemble a tree like structure, forming
projections that become stimulated by other
neurons and conduct the electrochemical
charge.
Schwann cells and Myelin sheath
Schwann cells are cells which surround all
nerve fibres in the PNS and wrap around
axons of motor and sensory neurons to form
the myelin sheath.
Nerve Endings:
The nerve ending or nerve terminal is a
specialised region of a neuron. It is separated
from the neuronal soma by an axon that is
exceedingly long.

FUNCTIONS OF A NEURON
 The main function of a neuron is to
communicate with each other and also
with other cells through electronic signals
or nerve impulses from the brain to the
body and also back which means they
transmit nerve impulses.
 Receive signals or information
 Integrate incoming signals i.e. to
determine whether or not the information
should be passed along.

HOW DO NEURONS WORK?

 Once an electrical impulse has reached the end
of an axon, the information must be
transmitted across the synaptic gap to the
dendrites of the adjoining neuron. In some
 cases, the electrical signal can almost
instantaneously bridge the gap between the
neurons and continue along its path.
 In other cases, neurotransmitters are needed to
send the information from one neuron to the
next. Neurotransmitters are chemical
messengers that are released from the axon
terminals to cross the synaptic gap and reach
the receptor sites of other neurons. In a process
known as reuptake, these neurotransmitters
attach to the receptor site and are reabsorbed
by the neuron to be reused

TYPES OF NEURONS
There are three major types of neurons:
sensory neurons, motor neurons, and
interneurons.
All three have different functions, but the
brain needs all of them to communicate.

 Sensory Neurons
Sensory neurons are neurons responsible for
converting external stimuli from the
environment into corresponding internal
stimuli. They are activated by sensory input,
and send projections to other elements of the
nervous system, ultimately conveying sensory
information to the brain or spinal cord.
 Motor Neurons
Motor neurons are neurons located in the
central nervous system, and they project their
axons outside of the CNS to directly or
indirectly control muscles. The interface
between a motor neuron and muscle fibre is a
specialized synapse called the neuromuscular
junction.

Interneurons
Interneurons are neither sensory nor motor
neuron rather, they act as the “middle men”
that form connections between the other two
types. Interneurons can save time and
therefore prevent injury by sending messages
to the spinal cord and back instead of all the
way to the brain.

CLOSURE
 Neural networks are a very powerful
means of computation
 They are made of neurodes which are
patterned off of neurons in the human
brain.
 Neural networks are very good at
association and classification and hence
this has led to their use in a number of
fields, including skin cancer detection and
computer virus detection.

BY:
AISH THANGAL
MINNA SEBASTIAN
XII B