Principles of Brain Organization
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psychology
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published 13/11/2007
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SummaryThe human brain contains approximately 1011 nerve cells or neurons. In general, neurons are composed of four morphologically identified regions: (1) the cell body or soma, which contains the nucleus and can be considered the metabolic center of the neuron; (2) the dendrites, processes that arise from the cell body, branch extensively, and serve as the major recipient zones of input from other neurons; (3) the axon, a single process that arises from a specialized portion of the cell body (the axon hillock) and conveys information to other neurons; and (4) the axon terminals, fine branches near the end of the axon that form contacts (synapses) generally with the dendrites or the cell bodies of other neurons, release neurotransmitters, and thereby provide a mechanism for interneuronal communication.
Table of Contents
- The majority of neurons in the human brain are considered to be multipolar in that they give rise to a single axon and several dendritic processes.
- In addition to neurons, the brain also contains several types of glial cells, which are at least ten times more numerous than the neurons.
- Other types of histological techniques, such as silver stains, selectively label the myelin coating of axons and, consequently, reveal the myeloarchitecture of the brain.
- Within the adult brain the connections among neurons or neural circuits follow several important principles of organization.
- Third, the connections among regions may be organized in a hierarchical or parallel fashion or both.
- The expansion and the differentiation of the human brain is associated with substantial differences in the organization of certain elements of neural circuitry.
- An additional limitation to the study of the human brain concerns the changes in morphology and biochemistry that can occur during the interval between the time of death and the freezing or fixation of brain specimens.
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