Dendrites
What are neurons?
- Neurons (also called neurones or nerve cells) are the brain and nervous system’s fundamental units, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input.
- A neuron has three main parts: dendrites, an axon, and a cell body or soma.
- Dendrite (tree branch) is where a neuron receives input from other cells. Dendrites branch as they move towards their tips, just like tree branches do, and they even have leaf-like structures on them called spines.
- Dendrites receive synaptic inputs from axons, with the total of dendritic inputs determining whether the neuron will fire an action potential.
- The long, thin structure in which action potentials are generated; the transmitting part of the neuron is the axon
