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    Neve Cell

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    Aaron Wallace
    The document summarizes the main parts of a nerve cell and their functions. It discusses the cell body, which produces proteins and organelles to provide energy; the neuronal membrane, which acts as a barrier and is involved in various functions; dendrites, which receive signals from other neurons; and the axon, which conducts electrical signals to distant regions of the nervous system. It provides details on the roles of structures like the nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal processes and metabolism.

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    Neve Cell

    Uploaded by

    Aaron Wallace
    61 views5 pages
    The document summarizes the main parts of a nerve cell and their functions. It discusses the cell body, which produces proteins and organelles to provide energy; the neuronal membrane, which acts as a barrier and is involved in various functions; dendrites, which receive signals from other neurons; and the axon, which conducts electrical signals to distant regions of the nervous system. It provides details on the roles of structures like the nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal processes and metabolism.

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    The document summarizes the main parts of a nerve cell and their functions. It discusses the cell body, which produces proteins and organelles to provide energy; the neuronal membrane, which acts as a barrier and is involved in various functions; dendrites, which receive signals from other neurons; and the axon, which conducts electrical signals to distant regions of the nervous system. It provides details on the roles of structures like the nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal processes and metabolism.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    61 views5 pages

    Neve Cell

    Uploaded by

    Aaron Wallace
    The document summarizes the main parts of a nerve cell and their functions. It discusses the cell body, which produces proteins and organelles to provide energy; the neuronal membrane, which acts as a barrier and is involved in various functions; dendrites, which receive signals from other neurons; and the axon, which conducts electrical signals to distant regions of the nervous system. It provides details on the roles of structures like the nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal processes and metabolism.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    Parts of the nerve cell and their function 06/11/02 15:09

    Parts of the Nerve Cell and Their Functions


    Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD

    [1. Cell body] [2.Neuronal membrane] [3.Dendrites] [4. Axon] [5. Nerve ending]

    1. Cell body

    The cell body (soma) is the factory of the neuron. It produces all the
    proteins for the dendrites, axons and synaptic terminals and contains
    specialized organelles such as the mitochondria, Golgi apparatus,
    endoplasmic reticulum, secretory granules, ribosomes and
    polysomes to provide energy and make the parts, as well as a
    production line to assemble the parts into completed products.

    Cytosol - Is the watery and salty fluid with a potassium-rich solution


    inside the cell containing enzymes responsible for the metabolism of
    the cell.

    1. Nucleus - Derived from the Latin word for "nux", nut, the nucleus
    is the archivist and the architect of the cell. As archivist it contains the
    genes, consisting of DNA which contains the cell history, the basic
    information to manufacture all the proteins characteristic of that cell.
    As architect, it synthesizes RNA from DNA and ships it through its
    pores to the cytoplasm for use in protein synthesis.

    The.Nucleolus is an organelle within the nucleus which is involved


    actively in ribosome synthesis and in the transfer of RNA to the
    cytosol.

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    Parts of the nerve cell and their function 06/11/02 15:09

    2. Golgi Apparatus - membrane-bound structure that plays a role in


    packaging peptides and proteins (including neurotransmitters) into
    vesicles.

    3. Polyribosomes - there are several free ribosomes attached by a


    thread. The thread is a single strand of mRNA (messenger RNA, a
    molecule involved in the synthesis of proteins outside the nucleus).
    The associated ribosomes work on it to make multiple copies of the
    same protein.

    4. Neuronal membrane (see next box)

    5. Mitochondrium - this is the part of the cell responsible for the


    supply of energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
    Neurons need an enormous amount of energy. The brain is one of
    the most metabolically active tissues in the body. In man, for
    example, the brain uses 40 ml of oxygen per minute. Mitochondria
    use oxygen and glucose to produce most of the cell's energy.
    The brain consumes large amounts of ATP. The chemical energy
    stored in ATP is used to fuel most of the biochemical reactions of the
    neuron. For example, special proteins in the neuronal membrane use
    the energy released by the breakdown of ATP into ADP to pump
    certain substances across the membrane to establish concentration
    differences between the inside of the neuron and the outside.

    6. Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum and Smooth Endoplasmic


    Reticulum (7) - A system of tubes for the transportation of materials
    within the cytoplasm. It may have ribosomes (rough ER) or no
    ribosomes (smooth ER). With ribosomes, the ER is important for
    protein synthesis.

    Nissl Bodies - Groups of ribosomes used for protein synthesis.

    2. Neuronal Membrane

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    Parts of the nerve cell and their function 06/11/02 15:09

    The neuronal membrane serves as


    a barrier to enclose the cytoplasm
    inside the neuron, and to exclude
    certain substances that float in the
    fluid that bathes the neuron.

    The membrane with its mosaic of


    proteins is responsible for many
    important functions:

    keeping certain ions and small


    molecules out of the cell and
    letting others in,
    accumulating nutrients, and
    rejecting harmful substances,
    catalyzing enzymatic reactions,
    establishing an electrical
    potential inside the cell,
    conducting an impulse
    being sensitive to particular
    neurotransmitters and
    modulators .

    The membrane is made of lipids and proteins - fats and chains of aminoacids. The basic
    structure of this membrane is a bilayer or sandwich of phospholipids, organized in such a way
    that the polar (charged) regions face outward and the non polar regions face inward.

    The external face of the membrane contains the receptors, small specialized molecular regions
    which provide a kind of "attachment port" for other external molecules, in a scheme analogous to
    a a key and a keyhole. For each external molecule there is a corresponding receptor. Whenever
    receptors become attached to a molecule, some alterations of the membrane and in the interior
    of the cell ensue, such as the modification of permeability to some ions.

    3. Dendrites

    These structures branch out in treelike fashion and serve as the main
    apparatus for receiving signals from other nerve cells. They function as an
    "antennae" of the neuron and are covered by thousands of synapses. The
    dendritic membrane under the synapse (the post-synaptic membrane) has
    many specialized protein molecules called receptors that detect the
    neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft. A nerve cell can have many dendrites
    which branch many times, their surface is irregular and covered in dendritic
    spines which are where the synaptic input connections are made.

    4. Axon

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    Parts of the nerve cell and their function 06/11/02 15:09

    Usually a long process which often projects to distant regions of the


    nervous system. The axon is the main conducting unit of the neuron,
    capable of conveying electrical signals along distances that range
    from as short as 0.1 mm to as long as 2 m. Many axon split into
    several branches, thereby conveying information to different targets.
    Many neurons do not have axons. In these so-called amacrine
    neurons, all the neuronal processess are dendrites. Neurons with
    very short axons are also found.

    The axons of many neurons are wrapped in a myelin sheat, which is


    Axon
    composed of the membranes of intersticial cells and is wrapped
    around the axons to form several concentric layers. The myelin
    sheath is broken at various points by the nodes of Ranvier, so that in
    cross section it looks like a string of sausages. The myelin protects
    the axon, and prevents interference between axons as they pass
    along in bundles, sometimes thousands at time.

    The cells that wrap around peripheral nerve fibers - that is, nerve
    fibers outside of the brain and spinal cord - are called Schwann cells
    (because they were first described by Theodor Schwann). The cells
    that wrap around axons within the central nervous system (brain and
    spinal cord) are called oligodendrocytes. The axon, with its
    surrounded sheath, is called a nerve fiber. Between each pair of
    sucessive Schwann cells is a gap of a node of Ranvier.

    The Axon Hillock

    The axon hillock is where the axon is joined to the cell. It is from here
    that the electrical firing known as an action potential usually occurs.

    5. Nerve Ending (Presynaptic Terminals)

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    Parts of the nerve cell and their function 06/11/02 15:09

    Synapses are the junctions formed with other nerve cells where the
    presynaptic terminal of one cell comes into 'contact' with the postsynaptic
    membrane of another. It is at these junctions that neurons are excited,
    inhibited, or modulated. There are two types of synapse, electrical and
    chemical.

    Electrical synapses occur where the presynaptic terminal is in electrical


    continuity with the postsynaptic. Ions and small molecules passing
    through, thus connecting channels from one cell to the next, so that
    electrical changes in one cell are transmitted almost instantaneously to the
    next. Ions can generally flow both ways at these junctions i.e. they tend to
    be bi-directional, although there are electrical junctions where the ions can
    only flow one way, these are know as rectifying junctions. Rectifying
    junctions are used to synchronise the firing of nerve cells.

    Chemical synaptic junction is more complicated. The gap between the


    post- and presynaptic terminals is larger, and the mode of transmission is
    not electrical, but carried by neurotransmitters, neuroactive substances
    released at the presynaptic side of the junction. There are two types of
    chemical junctions. Type I is an excitatory synapse, generally found on
    dendrites, type II is an inhibitory synapse, generally found on cell bodies.
    Different substances are released at these two types of synapse. The
    direction of flow of information is usually one way at these junctions.

    Each terminal button is connected to other neurons across a small gap


    called a synapse. The physical and neurochemical characteristics of each
    synapse determines the strength and polarity of the new input signal. This
    is where the brain is the most flexible, and the most vulnerable. Changing
    the constitution of various neurotransmitter chemicals can increase or
    decrease the amount of stimulation that the firing axon imparts on the
    neighbouring dendrite. Altering the neurotransmitters can also change
    whether the stimulation is excitatory or inhibitory.

    Main page Next: Anatomical Diversity of Neurons

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