What do nerves do?

Answer 1

A neuron is like a relay switch - it receives signals from other neurons and depending on the nature of the signals, the neuron may then 'fire' a signal of its own, stay silent, or become inhibited. This is like binary code - i.e.,"on" and "off" states. A neuron can oscillate between these states in a variety of frequencies. So the range of computations that even a single neuron can perform is impressive. Now, consider that this sort of thing is happening billions of times every second all throughout the nervous system and you can intuitively grasp just how complex the patterns of signals would become. In fact, somewhere in those patterns is what we would call our 'mind' and our 'intelligence' and so on. And this is all because of a large collection of neurons (~100 billion at birth) relaying signals to each other through a multitude of pathways (trillions).

Answer 2

One kind specializes in bringing information into the brain from the senses. These are called afferent/sensory nerves. They help bring information into the five special senses; hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling, and tasting. In addition to there senses there are many others; like your sense of balance, temperature, pressure, vibration, movement, body position, pleasure, and pain.

Then there is another kind of nerve that interprets this information. They are called interneurons. You can think of these as the thinking part of the nervous system. They take all the incoming information and decide if something needs to be changed inside the body or outside the body. If a change is needed inside the body, the thinking nerves change the body temperature, help with digestion, or change the heart rate or breathing, etc. If a change needs to be made outside the body, then those same nerves tell other nerves to send a signal to the muscles in your body to make you talk, walk, run, fight, eat, or any other activity you may need to do to survive, or just get through your day.

The third kind of nerves are the ones that make your body move. They are called efferent/motor neurons and they are the ones that actually do the talking and the walking, etc, that I already mentioned.

Answer 3

Neuron is a the main cellualr component of the nervous system, a specialized type of celll that integrates electrochemical activity of the other neurons that are connected to it and that propgates that integrated activity to other neurons

Answer 4

The main function of neuron cells are to carry signals. There are three types of neurons. Sensory, relay, and motor neuron. Sensory neurons carry signals from the receptors in our body (e.g. thermal, pressure etc.) to the relay neurons, which are found in our spinal cord. Relay neurons then send signals along the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then processes the information and sends a signal back down the spinal cord, through the relay neurons. Relay neurons then sends signals to motor neurons, which will then affect the muscles' movements. In a reflex action, it skips the part where the information is processed. Therefore, when a signal reaches the relay neuron from the sensory neuron, the relay neurons will directly send a signal to the motor neurons. The main function of neuron cells are to carry signals. There are three types of neurons. Sensory, relay, and motor neuron. Sensory neurons carry signals from the receptors in our body (e.g. thermal, pressure etc.) to the relay neurons, which are found in our spinal cord. Relay neurons then send signals along the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then processes the information and sends a signal back down the spinal cord, through the relay neurons. Relay neurons then sends signals to motor neurons, which will then affect the muscles' movements. In a reflex action, it skips the part where the information is processed. Therefore, when a signal reaches the relay neuron from the sensory neuron, the relay neurons will directly send a signal to the motor neurons. The main function of neuron cells are to carry signals. There are three types of neurons. Sensory, relay, and motor neuron. Sensory neurons carry signals from the receptors in our body (e.g. thermal, pressure etc.) to the relay neurons, which are found in our spinal cord. Relay neurons then send signals along the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then processes the information and sends a signal back down the spinal cord, through the relay neurons. Relay neurons then sends signals to motor neurons, which will then affect the muscles' movements. In a reflex action, it skips the part where the information is processed. Therefore, when a signal reaches the relay neuron from the sensory neuron, the relay neurons will directly send a signal to the motor neurons. The main function of neuron cells are to carry signals. There are three types of neurons. Sensory, relay, and motor neuron. Sensory neurons carry signals from the receptors in our body (e.g. thermal, pressure etc.) to the relay neurons, which are found in our spinal cord. Relay neurons then send signals along the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then processes the information and sends a signal back down the spinal cord, through the relay neurons. Relay neurons then sends signals to motor neurons, which will then affect the muscles' movements. In a reflex action, it skips the part where the information is processed. Therefore, when a signal reaches the relay neuron from the sensory neuron, the relay neurons will directly send a signal to the motor neurons.

Answer 5

Neurons communicate with one another via synapses, where the axon terminal or en passant boutons (terminals located along the length of the axon) of one cell impinges upon another neuron's dendrite, soma or, less commonly, axon. Neurons such as Purkinje cells in the cerebellum can have over 1000 dendritic branches, making connections with tens of thousands of other cells; other neurons, such as the magnocellular neurons of the supraoptic nucleus, have only one or two dendrites, each of which receives thousands of synapses. Synapses can be excitatory or inhibitory and will either increase or decrease activity in the target neuron. Some neurons also communicate via electrical synapses, which are direct, electrically-conductive junctions between cells.

In a chemical synapse, the process of synaptic transmission is as follows: when an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it opens voltage-gated calcium channels, allowing calcium ions to enter the terminal. Calcium causes synaptic vesicles filled with neurotransmitter molecules to fuse with the membrane, releasing their contents into the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and activate receptors on the postsynaptic neuron.

The human brain has a huge number of synapses. Each of the 1011 (one hundred billion) neurons has on average 7,000 synaptic connections to other neurons. It has been estimated that the brain of a three-year-old child has about 1015 synapses (1 quadrillion). This number declines with age, stabilizing by adulthood. Estimates vary for an adult, ranging from 1014 to 5 x 1014 synapses (100 to 500 trillion).

Answer 6

Information is carried along axons and dendrites by changes in electrical properties called action potential. An action potential is initiated when a chemical messenger attaches to a specific site called a receptor. This attachment triggers an electrical signal to be generated that travels through the neuron. Once the electrical signal reaches the end of the axon, a neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic cleft, the gap between neurons. As the neurotransmitter diffuses across the cleft, it binds with receptor sites on another neuron, initiating another action potential. This process is repeated and a chain reaction occurs exciting many neurons in the process.

Answer 7

it is the most important part of the cell ... it is the brain or control centre of the cell

Answer 8

A neuron is the basic function of the nervous system.

Answer 9

they are nerve cell functioning units that takes impulses to the dendrites.i'm not real sure about this but i am sure it's close!! :)