neuron

The neuron is the basic operating unit of the central nervous system. Inter-neuronal information processing, involving complex neural networks, provides the nervous system with its enormous functional capacity. The human brain contains about 10^(11) neurons*, which connect, via synapses, with an average of 1000 other neurons. In total, the human brain may contain somewhere between 10^(14) and 10^(15) synaptic connections. Neurotransmitter chemicals effect the connection between neurons, when they cross the gap between neurons and interact with a specific receptor molecule. More than one hundred chemicals and a much larger number of receptors have been implicated in synaptic transmission. Some neurotransmitters are the targets of drug therapies. Receptor molecules are the targets of neurotoxic venomous substances.

* 10^(11) is equivalent to a 10 followed by 11 zeros = 1,000,000,000,000

For more information on neurons, neuroglial cells, and neurochemistry:
Main page of Neuron : action potential : axon : dendrite : dendritic spines : excitatory : inhibitory : integration : interneuron : metabotropic
neuron : synapse

Main page of Cell : cell membrane : endoplasmic reticulum : Golgi apparatus : ion channels : pinocytosis

Main page of BioChemistry : hydrophilic : hydrophobic :