Neurons

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The nervous system is a complex network that is composed of nerve cells (neurons) and glial cells. Neurons receive, process and transmit information as electrical impulses to other neurons or target tissues.

Although neurons are structurally diverse, they typically are composed of four main functional parts: dendrites (receptive part, where signals from other neurons are received), a cell body (integrative part, containing the nucleus and cytoplasmic organelles that maintain cell function), an axon (conductive part, which propagates the signal along the neuron) and axon terminals (transmissive part, where signals are sent to target structures via neurotransmitters).

Generally, neurons are classified into different types based on their unique morphologies, functions, the effect they have on other neurons and the neurotransmitters they release. The major types include:

• Morphology: Unipolar, bipolar, pseudounipolar, multipolar, anaxonic
• Function: Efferent (motor) neurons, afferent (sensory) neurons, interneurons
• Effect on other neurons: Excitatory, inhibitory, modulatory
• Neurotransmitters: Glutamatergic, cholinergic, GABAergic, dopaminergic neurons

The following video will help you learn more about the different types of neurons.

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Structure of a neuron

Neurons are typically composed of four main functional parts: receptive, integrative, conductive part and transmissive. Discover all of the components of a typical neuron below.

Types of neurons

Neurons can typically be classified by their morphology into: unipolar, bipolar, multipolar, pseudounipolar and anaxonic neurons. Discover the structure of each type below.

Take a look at our image gallery below to further review this topic. 

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Summary