Neuron+-+AT

= Introduction = toc

Did you know that the nerve cell controls our movement, feelings and thinking? This one little cell has a huge effect on the human body. Soccer players need their nerve cells to control their movement on the field. The nerve cell helps players control their feet to kick the ball and the direction they are moving toward the goal. The nerve cell helps our entire body function. There are small structures within the cell to help it work. If the structures do not function correctly, then you cannot receive the messages that are being sent to parts of the body.

= Functions of the Nerve Cell =

The nervous system is the control system of the whole body. It controls your movement, feelings and your thinking. The nerve controls body movement. From the brain, the neurons tells the brain what to move, like how we move our bodies. It carries electrical messages throughout the body and it goes from one neuron to another (Discovery Education). For example, a cell phone rings and the neurons react to it and sends a messages throughout the body to a part to pick it up. The nerve forms pathways that go through your muscles to give the message. The nerve cell has a Dendrite and an Axon that helps the neuron send messages to one neuron to another (Human Biology and Health). These two main structures are important for the neurons and help them to function.

=Structures of the Nerve Cell= Imagine the nerve cell as a puzzle. If you are missing a piece, you cannot understand the whole image. A nerve cell is like this because it needs all of it's little parts to work and be complete. The axon helps the neuron transport messages and carries impulses away from the cell body to other parts of the hum an body (Human Biology and Health). This is important to the function of the cell because if there was no axon in the nerve cell, there was no way we could move our body. The myelin helps the messages drop off or get the information quicker to a part of your body. Without myelin, we wouldn’t be able to have fast reflexes (like running). The synapse is a narrow space between the neurons help get the messages through the human body. And finally the dendrite. The dendrite is also important in the nerve system because it transform the messages to towards the cell body (Human Biology and Health). If this structure doesn’t function right, the message wouldn’t be sent to the cell body and cent to the Axon. But these types of structures can die or get hurt in some ways in certain types of diseases.

=Diseases that Affect the Nervous System= What if there is a type of disease(s) that can affect the nervous system? There are certain types of disease that can affect or hurt the nerve system. Epilepsy is one of the type of disease that can cause seizures that can damage the brain cells/nerve cells. Epilepsy happens when “too many brain cells are sending signals at the same time, it causes an overload, and a person may pass out and shake all over. People who have epilepsy may have seizures only once in awhile or as frequently as every day” (“Epilepsy”). Having Parkinson’s Disease can cause the person to lose their ability to keep control of their body movement. Parkinson's Disease affects the movement of the human body (“Parkinson’s Disease”). Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a big disease and it can affect the immune system. This can cause vision problems and memory problems. (“Multiple Sclerosis”). A stroke isn't a type of disease, but this can hurt the nerve system and the neurons can die and the human body wouldn’t be able to move anymore (or a certain part of the human body).



= Conclusion =

Certainly, nerve cells have been very important to our bodies. They help us move think and feel. Without them, there couldn’t possibly be another way that we could send a message through our bodies to move. The nerve cells work with us day and night. Many people have been realizing how important the nerve system is in their bodies. For someone that can have a disease and does, helping them can make a difference and save the neurons in their body and not lose their ability.

=References=

kidshealth.org. kidshealth.org/en/kids/epilepsy.html. kidshealth.org. kidshealth.org/en/kids/ms.html. kidshealth.org. kidshealth.org/en/kids/parkinson.html. “Nervous System.” BrainPOP, www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/nervoussystem/. “Neurons.” BrainPOP, www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/neurons/. Padilla, Michael J., et al. Prentice Hall Science Explorer. Boston, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007 Stevens, Charles F. “Nervous system.” World Book Student. World Book, 2017. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.