Physical Structure of a Neuron (Neuron-to-Neuron Communication) - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Examples of the ten different body systems are the circulatory system, the digestive system, the integumentary (skin), the skeletal, the muscular, the digestive, respiratory, the reproductive, the endocrine and the nervous system. All these systems work together in harmony that makes the human body a complex whole. Vitamins, nutrients and minerals are necessary for all the systems to work perfectly to attain and maintain good health. Regular exercise, proper diet and a healthy lifestyle all contribute and work together to make these systems function properly. Perhaps one of the most complex body system is the nervous system. This is the set of body system that is composed of very highly-specialized cells involved with the receiving and its transmission of information from both internal and external stimuli. In other words, this system is responsible for the receipt and relay of various communications within the human body. It is a complex system composed of the brain, the spinal column and the nerves. The nervous system also includes the special sense organs of the eyes, the ears, nose, taste buds and skin. In effect, the nervous system is the control system of the human body. It is a sort of a command center made up of the central nervous system (brain and spinal column) and the peripheral nervous system (the spinal nerves and the twelve cranial nerves). ...
It is also known by other terms like biopsychology, behavioural neuroscience and physiological psychology but the ultimate aim is the same, which is to better understand how a human nervous system and its components explain our behaviours as well as various ailments. In this regard it is very important to study and understand how biological processes affect not only behaviours and emotions but the entire cognitive process as well. For this purpose, it is crucial to explore how a person's actions are greatly influenced by the brain, neurotransmitters and the nervous system. It is therefore necessary to study the complex inter-relationship between anatomy and physiology in the complex human process of biological growth and development. This very fascinating field of study has already yielded some useful insights into how the nervous system affects and influences the entire body and indeed the whole person through a discovery of the role of chemical transmission by neurotransmitters within this system in relay of information from various stimuli (Wickens, 2005, p. 11). It is in this connection that this paper is discussing the basic unit of the nervous system which is the neuron and how the neurons in turn transmit crucial information between them. An understanding of a neuron's physical structure is a necessary adjunct to the process of understanding in the entire chemical transmission process. An example of a neurotransmitter is dopamine; too little of it causes Parkinson's and Alzheimer's but too much of it is associated with psychological disorders like dyslexia and schizophrenia. Physical Structure of a Neuron – the neuron is a single cell which is the basic unit or building block of the entire nervous system. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More