Neuron+-+SD

toc =Introduction=

You are running in a race and you see the finish line because of the sensory neurons in your eyes, your sensory neurons send messages to the motor neurons in your legs telling you to give it all you got because you are close to the finish line. At the final second you start to have a cramp but it doesn’t matter because in a split second your **interneurons** that control your brain picked up what is happening around you and you realize you’ve won, thanks to your neurons or nerve cells. Neurons are like the phone wires in your body that help you feel, act and think, and though each neuron has an average diameter of only 43 micrometers, all of the neurons in your brain stretched in diameter will be longer than the distance from Maine to Texas (“bankofbiology.blogspot”). Because of neurons we are able to move, think, remember and speak. Neurons are like an electric city when you see them firing at the same time due to the dendrites and axon which are specialized to speed up impulses and make the nervous system more efficient. Sadly, there are diseases like ALS which degenerate your motor neurons causing loss of movement and speech to eventual death.

=Neurons: The Electric City=

As you are reading this neurons are sending electrical impulses through your nervous system at speeds up to 90 meters per second! ("Neurons" 00:02:04) **Sensory neurons** that control your senses are picking up the text in front of you and are sending impulses throughout your nervous system and to your **motor neurons** which control your muscles and glands. Neurons are the workers in your nervous system that are responsible for everything from emotions to movements. To exceed in all of these jobs, the nervous system is extremely fast in receiving and communicating the information of what’s around you by changing the information to electrical impulses. This process is so fast due to the estimated 100 billion neurons that have lightning speeds (Neuroscience For Kids). The speeds of neurons receiving and sending electrical impulses, are fast because of the dendrites and axon in your nerve cells that are specialized for specific jobs to make the nervous system more efficient.

media type="youtube" key="yy994HpFudc" height="280" width="481" align="left" In this picture you can see the connecting vast nervous system and where the sensory, motor and interneurons are located.

In this video you'll see how fast neurons travel across the nervous system in a vast network of wires.

=Constellations of a Nerve Cell Station=

You might not know it, but you have hundreds of billions of telephone wires of neurons similar to telephone wires firing all over your body. Neurons are like specialized cells that have specific structures to help them send and receive information 9 times the speed of Usain Bolt. For example, the **axon** is like an extension cord from the **soma**, or the cell body to the axon terminal which sends information to the next neuron. The axon isn’t designed like an extension cord for no reason, it is specifically designed like this in order to send information to another cell. Also there are **dendrites** which are shaped like tree branches to pick up signals from the axon terminal, (“Define dendrites”). They send impulses to the cell body and are located on the opposite end of the neuron than the axon. Together, dendrites and the axon of a nerve cell help to speed the process of sending and receiving impulses with their unique design and jobs. However, neurons are never perfect and diseases such as ALS can kill these nerves and structures.

=Harsh Result of Dying Neurons=

Lou Gehrig’s disease also known as **ALS** (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a disease that is caused when motor neurons along the spinal cord start to degenerate until one can not move or speak. Because motor neurons control muscles and glands, as a result of them dying, simple tasks like picking up a water bottle or writing a letter are near impossible. Sadly, there is no cure yet for ALS however researchers are discovering more treatments. ALS affects 20,000 US citizens yearly according to Google search. There are two types of ALS, the first type is sporadic which is the most common type, affecting 90-95% of ALS patients, the second type is familial which is inherited and affects 5-10% of ALS patients (ALS Association). Go to [] to find out more about ALS and ways you could help. In conclusion, ALS affects the motor neurons in the spinal cord which causes loss of movement and speech and is a terrible example of what happens when neurons die.



=Conclusion=

In final analysis, motor neurons, sensory neurons and interneurons send impulses through our nervous system for you to do everything from reading this text in front of you to saying “hi” to someone. David Eagleman a writer and neuroscientist once said “A typical neuron makes about ten thousand connections to neighboring neurons. Given the billions of neurons, this means there are as many connections in a single cubic centimeter of brain tissue as there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.” (“Quotesgram.com”). This quote explains the crazy amount of electrical impulses sent through our body everyday. Unfortunately, diseases like ALS kill motor neurons and reminds us to be grateful for nerves. Finally, next time you think of neurons think of the vast network of wires in your body that cause us to think, act or feel.

= Glossary = **Soma:** Another word for a cell body. **Dendrites:** Small branches extending from the cell that picks up impulses and sends them to the cell body. **Axon:** A long middle section of a neuron that sends impulses from the nerve cell. **ALS:** (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a disease that degenerates motor neurons causing loss of most movement and speech. **Motor neurons:** Neurons that control muscles and glands. **Sensory neurons:** Neurons that control your vision and touch. **Interneurons:** Neurons that are in your brain.

=References=

 Works Cited
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 * 8) Parts of the Nerve Cell and Their Functions. www.cerebromente.org.br/n07/fundamentos/neuron/parts_i.htm.
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