Nerve cell function and synaptic mechanisms |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (iMIND), University of California, Irvine, CA, USA;2. Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Irvine, USA;3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA;4. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA;5. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA;6. Salk Institute, San Diego, USA;1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, San Diego, San Diego, California;2. Department of Bioengineering, San Diego, San Diego, California;3. Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California;4. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts;5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Durham, North Carolina;6. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences, Durham, North Carolina;7. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;1. Developmental Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA;2. College of Software, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China;3. Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA;4. Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Molecular Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA;1. Shriners Hospitals Pediatric Research Center, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA;2. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA;3. Department of Neurology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA;4. Department of Neuroscience, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA;5. Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8813, USA;1. Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA |
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| Abstract: | Nerve cells (neurones) are ‘excitable’ cells that can transduce a variety of stimuli into electrical signals, continuously sending information about the external and internal environment (in the form of sequences of action potentials) to the central nervous system (CNS). Interneurones in the CNS integrate this information and send signals along output (efferent) neurones to various parts of the body for the appropriate actions to be taken in response to environmental changes. Networks of neurones have been arbitrarily classified into various nervous systems that gather and transmit sensory information and control skeletal muscle function and autonomic function, etc. The junctions between neurones (synapses) are either electrical or chemical. The former permit the direct transfer of electrical current between cells, whereas the latter utilize chemical signalling molecules (neurotransmitters) to transfer information between cells. Neurotransmitters are mainly amino acids, amines or peptides (although other molecules such as purines and nitric oxide are utilized by some cells), and can be excitatory or inhibitory. Individual neurones within the CNS may receive synaptic inputs from thousands of other neurones. Therefore, each neurone ‘integrates’ this vast complexity of inputs and responds accordingly (either by remaining silent or firing action potentials to other neurones). Adaptations in the function and structure of chemical synapses in particular (synaptic plasticity) are thought to underlie the mechanisms mediating cognitive functions (learning and memory). |
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| Keywords: | Neurone synapse synaptic integration synaptic plasticity |
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