Wiring up the brain
The BRAIN magazine
Higher-order cognitive attributes, such as consciousness, creativity, language, sensory perception and memory, arise from different populations of neurons relaying and processing information via neuronal connections between functionally distinct brain areas in a highly synchronised manner.
Neurons communicate via long wire-like extensions, called axons, and much shorter dendrites, both of which form connections known as synapses.
Image: Queensland Brain Institute
Image: Queensland Brain Institute
Some axons can be up to a metre long, for example, those extend from the adult brain into the spinal cord. In contrast to the axon, the dendrites of a neuron are highly branched, like a tree. The high number of dendrites allows neurons to form networks, the prerequisite for differential neuronal integration from many different sources of information, i.e., the brain areas.
Newborn neurons migrate across the developing brain and send their axons and dendrites out to establish connections with nearby neurons via synapses.
Axons, the cables that carry electrical signals, are covered with myelin, an insulating substance that ensures the signals travel efficiently.
Nerve cells called neurons extend a single long cable called the axon, which forms connections called synapses with highly branched dendrites on target neurons.
Neurons send and receive signals via synapses, where electrical signals trigger the release of a chemical (called a neurotransmitter), which then acts on the next neuron.
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