The Neuron — Your Brain's Building Block
The parts of a nerve cell, and how information flows through it in one direction.
A neuron is a cell specialised to carry information. It has three working parts: dendrites, the branching antennas that receive signals from other neurons; the cell body (soma), which sums those inputs; and a single long axon, the output cable that carries the signal away to the next cell. Information flows one way — in through the dendrites, out along the axon.
Many axons are wrapped in myelin, a fatty insulation that lets the signal travel far faster, the same way insulation speeds a wire. A single neuron can receive inputs from thousands of others, so even one cell is a tiny decision-maker, constantly weighing whether the signals it receives are enough to fire.
- Dendrites receive, the cell body integrates, the axon transmits.
- Signals travel one direction: dendrite → cell body → axon.
- Myelin insulates the axon so signals travel much faster.
- One neuron can collect inputs from thousands of others.
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