Book 10, Question 53
Why Do Neurons ‘Talk’ with Sparks and Chemicals?
Neurons talk with sparks and chemicals because that is how a message can travel along a cell and then jump to the next one! Electrical impulses race along each neuron. Then chemicals hop across a tiny gap to the next cell.
More fun facts
- Neurons use both electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body.
- A neuron has three main parts: a cell body, a long tail called an axon, and tree like branches called dendrites.
- The axon sends messages out, and the dendrites receive messages coming in.
- When an electrical signal reaches the end of an axon, it releases chemicals called neurotransmitters into a tiny gap called a synapse.
- The neurotransmitters cross the gap and attach to receptors on the next cell, passing the message along.
- Some neurotransmitters make cells more active, and others calm them down.
- A fatty coating called myelin wraps around many axons and helps signals travel faster and farther.
- Some axons are shorter than the width of a hair, while others stretch from the brain all the way down the spinal cord.
Sources: National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health
Questions kids ask
Do neurons touch each other?
Usually not quite. Most pass messages across a tiny gap called a synapse, using chemical messengers.