Question: how does a neuron work in the brain

Emily Mattacola answered on 12 Nov 2019:

There are lots of different types of neurons and they vary in size and function, but they all operate in the same way. They pass messages between each other via electrical and chemical (known as neurotransmitter) signals.

These signals are the basic units of information processing in the nervous system and control all aspects of our behaviour. A signal starts in the part of the neuron called the dendrites, which are kind of like the branches of a tree. The message takes the form of an electrical nerve impulse (called an action potential). The action potential travels from the dendrites along the cell to the other end of the cell, called the axon terminal. When the action potential reaches the axon terminals, this triggers the release of a chemical signal, through chemicals called neurotransmitters. The axon terminal releases the neurotransmitter into the gap that lies between one neuron and the next (neurons lie next to each other but are not physically touching, there are gaps between them called synaptic gaps). The neurotransmitter is released across the synaptic gap, and then attach to receptors in the dendrites of the next neuron. This will then trigger an action potential in that neuron, and the process starts again. This all happens in a fraction of a millisecond!