Interactive Biology, by Leslie Samuel

In this Episode, I give an Introduction to neurons. First I answer the question “What is a neuron?”. Then I go into the parts of a neuron. Lastly, I talk about the three types of neurons. Enjoy!

This is the first in my series of BioVid Episodes: Video Tutorials to help with Biology. In the first section of my BioVid Tutorials, I will be dealing with The Nervous System. To start it all off, in this BioVid Episode, I give an introduction to the Nervous System. First, I answer the question “What is The Nervous System?”. Then I a talk about the two divisions of the Nervous System:

First off, lets talk about what respiration is. In order for you to live, your body needs oxygen. Cells use this oxygen in order for metabolism to take place and without it, you would have no energy. When you eat, that food is broken down and the process of respiration allows for you to convert that food into an energy form that can be used by your body.

The functions of neurons depend on the movement of ions across the membrane. This happens both passively and actively across the membrane of a neuron. Lets talk about the passive process first. There are 2 factors that control the passive movement of ions across the membrane. Those 2 factors are diffusion and charge.

We’ve all heard the statement that “drugs kill brain cells”, but what about alcohol? Does the same thing apply? Does alcohol kill brain cells, and is that why we shouldn’t go out binging on a ton of alcohol?

First lets talk a little about how the brain functions. It’s estimated that there are over 100 billion brain cells (neurons) in the human brain. These cells are unique in that they can communicate very quickly with each other by sending nerve impulses, also known as action potentials. When the nerve impulse reaches the end of the axon, the axon terminals release neurotransmitters which then relays the signal to the next cell.