Youve Got Mail: How Neurons Send Messages

The firing of a neuron is a biochemical process that uses electrical impulses to relay information in the brain. Much like the postal service that brings you your mail every day, neurons sort, package, and deliver information to other neurons. This document describes how multipolar neurons send electrical messages to each other using that sort, package, and deliver process. Other types of neurons as exist well, but they are outside the scope of this text. Parts of a Neuron A multipolar neuron is named for the numerous appendages extending from the central hub of the cell. This type of neuron is designed much like a tree. It is branched at both ends and has a trunk in the middle. Beginning at the top of the tree, the parts of a neuron are: The dendrites, a branched structure that reaches to the ends of other neurons. The soma, or the body of the neuron. The soma holds the nucleus of the cell, and is responsible for keeping the cell alive. The axon, a long appendage similar to the trunk of a tree. The neuron receives most of its length from the axon. This length allows the messages to be carried great distances. The axon terminal (the roots of a tree), which connects to the dendrites of the next neuron.

Figure 1: The Neuron [animatlab.com] Sorting the Mail: Dendrites React to a Message Being Received When dendrites receive a message from a preceding neuron, changes begin to occur in the cell. A cell that is not firing has a resting voltage of -70 mV. However, as messages begin to be received, the cell registers the communication by becoming more positive.

This change in voltage is achieved by transport channels embedded in the lipid bilayer of the cell wall (the barrier that separates the inside of the cell from the outside). Usually these transport channels keep ions and unnecessary materials from entering the neuron and changing its biology.

Figure 2: Transport Channel [www.sonefe.org] However, a neuron receiving a message will allow the transport channels to open- but only allow sodium (Na+) in and potassium (K+) out. Like a bouncer at the clubs downtown, the transport channel is selective about which ions are allowed into the cell, and they must show ID before theyre allowed in. They prove themselves by being the correct shape, and fitting together with the side of the transport channel much like a puzzle piece. ATP supplies the energy for this exchange, and it has its own shape and puzzle, as shown in Figure 2. For every 2 K+ that leave the neuron, 3 Na+ enter, making the cell more positive. The positive ions in turn raise the voltage of the cell to 30 mV, which is the signal the soma needs to begin preparing an action potential. The Letter: Action Potentials Continue the Message Movement Imagine a neuron as a see-saw. Some messages try to get one side to go down, some try to make the other. More and more incoming messages add weight to a certain side. In order to begin again though, one side must touch the ground. This is how the all-or-nothing principle works with neurons. A threshold must be reached for an action potential to be generated. If the threshold is not reached, then no action potential is generated and the letter is not sent to the next neuron. An action potential is the message or letter that gets carried down to the next cell. In order for an action potential to be generated, a certain threshold must be reached. This can be difficult because some neurons try to hinder an action potential from being created. These neurons are called inhibitory neurons (as opposed to excitatory) and the messages they send create a sort of balance with other messages.

Once an action potential is created, the cell needs some time to go back to -70 mV before it can try to fire again. In this refractory period, the transport channels reverse the previous flow, and K+ travels back into the cell as NA+ is pushed out. The now-existing action potential is ready to be delivered. It travels from the soma down the axon and to the synaptic terminals. Like a wave travelling across a smooth body of water, the action potential is an area of positive charge created from the NA+ ions, which travels down the axon. After the action potential passes, the axon calms and the negative charge is reestablished. The axon is covered in insulation known as the myelin sheath, which helps keep the electrical impulse from weakening in its travels. Its similar to putting bubble-wrap in a fragile package; it keeps the message safe. Into the Mailbox: Action Potentials Release Neurotransmitters At the axon terminal, the action potential reaches the end of its journey. The action potential letter is opened with the physical opening of vesicles, which are voids in the terminal knobs that hold neurotransmitters. The vesicles are told by the action potential to move toward the edge of the terminal. As it reaches the edge, these neurotransmitter bubbles pop and allow the neurotransmitters to exit the neuron. Neurons do not physically touch each other, so when neurotransmitters are released they occupy the space between the sending neurons synaptic terminal and the receiving neurons dendrites. This in-between is known as a synapse.

Figure 3: The Synapse [www.txtwriter.com] Neurotransmitters that are released into the synapse do one of 3 things: A) Attach to a receptor on the receiving dendrite and work to create the next action potential

B) Get destroyed by enzymes in the extracellular fluid, serving no role in the next action potential C) Re-enter the synaptic terminal, and get re-packaged into a vesicle to be ejected later on The number and type of neurotransmitters emitted influences the next action potential. The more neurotransmitters that reach dendritic receptors, the quicker the see-saw can hit the ground and cause an action potential.

The Big Picture This whole process is repeated on an endless loop (like your favorite song). Action potentials are generated, travel down the axon, and release neurotransmitters in different combinations to create nerve impulses, and in a larger scope, thoughts. Figure 4 (below) illustrates the action potential through its delivery.

Figure 4: A Firing Neuron [wwhfblog.com]