Neuron+-+MP

=Intro= toc You're hosting a party at your house with all your closest family and friends.You are cooking when guests start arriving, you go and open the door to let them in. When you are done letting the guests in you go back to cooking, when you smell something burning.You run to get the pan off the stove, as you trip and try not to fall face first. Your hand touches the stove as you’re regaining your balance. Your hand gets burned and you pull it away as fast as you can trying to get some cold water on it before it starts to blister and won't be able to host the party.

Without neurons you wouldn't be able to react to your burning hand, or to reach to open the door for your guests or even host the party because you wouldn't be able to do anything.

=What is a Neuron= A neuron is what carries messages from one part of the body to the next, neurons carry messages that contain your thoughts, feelings, senses, and movements.

These messages are called **Impulses**. These impulses travel by **neurotransmitters**. When the impulse reaches the end of an axon it causes the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters into the gap between one neuron and the next. These neurotransmitters are detected by **receptors** on the next neuron, and that signals it to continue moving from neuron to neuron. The **soma** is the part of the neuron that is like most other neurons, it has the nucleus, genetic machinery and where many of the metabolic processes happen.

=Structure of a Neuron=

There are many parts of a neuron like the nucleus, axon terminal, mitochondria, dendrites, and many more.The nucleus is important to every cell because it tells the cell what to do. The **axon**, is the body of the neuron and could go from the spinal cord down to your toe, the longer the neuron the faster the impulse travels. Axons are covered in a fatty substance called **myelin**, myelin acts as an insulator. Myelinated axons’ impulses travel faster than other neurons.

The way an impulse gets to another neuron are by **dendrites**. Dendrites are treelike extensions at the beginning of a neuron, that help increase surface area to the body of the cell. They receive the impulses from another neuron and send it down the axon and onto another neuron.
 * Different Types a Neurons **

There are 3 different types of neurons **sensory neuron**, **interneuron**, and ** motor neuron ** each having a different purpose, and each important to everyday life.

A unipolar neuron is a sensory neuron which pick up stimuli from the internal or external environment and converts it into a nerve impulse. A unipolar neuron has only one protoplasmic process (neurite) which extends from the cell body. Most neurons are multipolar, which have several dendrites and an axon, unipolar neurons are an exception to this rule. A unipolar neuron is a sensory neuron which pick up stimuli from the internal or external environment and converts it into a nerve impulse.

A bipolar neuron is an interneuron which carries nerve impulses from one neuron to another neuron only having two processes. One projecting from each end of the cell body, these may be either one axon and one dendrite or two dendrites. In other words, a bipolar neuron is an interneuron which carries nerve impulses from one neuron to another. Some interneurons pass impulses from sensory neurons to motor neurons.

A multipolar neuron is a motor neuron which is a type of neuron that possesses a single (usually long) axon and many dendrites. A multipolar neuron sends an impulse to a muscle or a gland, and the muscle or gland reacts in response.These dendritic branches can also emerge from the nerve cell body.

=What Causes Neurons to get Diseases=

There is a serious disease called motor neuron disease and it is an incurable form of progressive neurodegeneration. Over time the nerves in the brain and spine quickly lose its function. In this case the motor neurons are affected.

Another neuron affected disease is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS also a type of motor neuron disease)can also be referred as Lou Gehrig's Disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects all the way from the brain to the spinal cord, to the muscles across the body. The progressive neurodegeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to control muscle movement is lost. Patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

=Can Damaged Neurons Be Fixed=

After a neuron is damaged, it can regenerate. But a dead neuron can't regenerate, because when something is dead you wouldnt be able to bring it back to life. When a neuron is trying to regenerate, it will never be to it's fullest capacity. And if you're wondering if new neurons can grow to replace the old ones that died, they can't.

In **Parkinson's Disease** neurons that produce the neurotransmitters dopomine die off in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that controls body movements.This causes difficulty initiating movement. In, a genetic mutation makes too much of neurotransmitter called glutamate, which kills neurons in the basal ganglia. As a result, people twist and writhe uncontrollably. **Alzheimer’s** **disease**, unusual proteins build up in and around neurons in the neocortex and hippocampus, parts of the brain that control memory. When these neurons die, people lose their capacity to remember and their ability to do everyday tasks. Physical damage to the brain and other parts of the central nervous system can also kill or disable neurons. Blows to the brain, or the damage caused by a stroke, can kill neurons outright or slowly starve them of the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. A Spinal cord injury can disrupt communication between the brain and muscles when neurons lose their connection to axons located below the site of injury. These neurons may still live, but they lose their ability to communicate. =Conclusion= Neurons are the mailmen of your body. They retrieve and deliver messages to other parts of the body. If mailmen always mixed up the mail, it would be really hard for people to communicate. Just like neurons, if impulses were sent to the wrong places, your body wouldn't be communicating correctly,therefore you wouldn't know how to react to take your hand off the hot stove. Without neurons we would be paralyzed and wouldn't react to anything which could eventually cause you to die. =Resources=

Boeree, C. George, Dr. “The Neuron.” Shippensburg University. George Boeree, 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .

Chudler, Eric H. “Lights, Camera, Action Potential.” Neuroscience For Kids. Eric H. Chudler, 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .

- - -. “The Synapse.” Neuroscience For Kids. Eric H. Chudler, 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .

“The Neuron.” BrainFacts.org. Neuroscience, 1 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .

Neuroscience For Kids. Eric H. Chudler, 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. .

Padilla, Michael J., et al. Prentice Hall Science Explorer. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.

- - -. Prentice Hall Science Explorer. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print. Stevens, Charles F. “Nervous System.” World Book Online. World Book, 2014. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. .

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