What Is a Neuron?
A neuron is a highly specialized cell which is capable of conducting information in the form of neurotransmitters, chemical signals which can trigger a variety of activities or responses. These cells operate in a binary fashion: they are either on or off, depending on which neurotransmitters they have received. Neurons make up the building block of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and individual nerves of the body. There are several different types of neurons designed for specific activities, ranging from the cells which cluster together to make the gray matter of the brain to the motor neurons at the tip of the toes. Every neuron has a cell body, known as the soma, which contains a number of organelles, along with dendrites, extensions which can receive information as it is transmitted to the neuron. Type I neurons also have an axon, a long tail which can emit neurotransmitters when the neuron is excited, while Type II neurons lack this feature, or have significan
