The first section of the axon. The axon hillock is cone shaped leading into the axon. It is the integration area of the cell body, where the electrical information from the synapses gathers. If the electrical impulses are strong enough, then the axon hillock will reach threshold and release an action potential.

Axon Hillock

This is the process of moving materials from the cell body to the axons and dendrites, and from the axons to the cell body. This process involves the use of motor proteins which carry the materials up and down the cell. 

Axonal transport 

The myelin sheath is a fatty substance that often covers axons, acting as an insulator. This covering is crucial for increasing the speed at which neural impulses are transmitted along the axon.

Myelin Sheath

There is a single axon for every neuron, which leads away from the cell body and acts as a conduction zone. It carries the cell's electrical sygnals to the next neurons, splitting into axon collaterals and axon terminals.

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The specialized structures are specific for information processing and combination. They all have shared distinct features that relate to information processing, and are seperated into four distinct functional zones.

Specialized Neuron Structures

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

The cellular extentions from the input end of the neuron. The dendrite has 'branches' that accommodate the synapses from other neurons. The dendrites send the electrical pulses to the cell body.

Dendrite

Also known as the soma, the cell body contains the nucleus. It recieves the synaptic inputs and integrates the information to determine if the electricity level is enough to trigger an action potential, aka signal the next neurons.

Neuron Cell Body

The Neuron Axon

The axon terminals are the output zone of the cell. They transmit the neuron's activity across the synapses to the recieving cells.

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