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The brain is a mosaic of diverse cell types, each with its own set of characteristics. Neurons and non-neuronal cells called glia are the most prevalent types of brain cells. The average adult human brain has roughly 100 billion neurons, as well as an equal number, if not more, of glia. Although neurons are the most well-known kind of brain cell, both neurons and glial cells are required for normal brain function.
Neurons
Neurons are usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the brain. Neurons are brain cells that send and receive electrical and chemical messages. They serve as brain-building blocks and transfer information to other neurons, muscles, and tissues throughout the body. They enable you to think, feel, move, and grasp your surroundings.
A neuron is composed of three basic components: the cell body, or soma; branching dendrites that receive messages from other neurons; and the axon, which sends signals to surrounding neurons via the axon terminal. When a neuron fires an action potential, electric and chemical impulses go over a small gap called the synapse from one neuron’s axon to the dendrites of another neuron. (For further information, see our fact sheet “How Does the Brain Work?”
How Many Brain Cells Do I Have quiz
Labeled-neurons-basics
Glia, like neurons, are crucial nervous system cells. Glia was once thought to be like glue, only used to keep neurons in place. The term “glia” from Latin meaning “glue.” However, we now understand that glial cells are more than just brain glue. Glia, in fact, actively participates in brain signaling and is required for neurons to operate properly.
Glial cells, unlike neurons, cannot produce action potentials to relay messages, but this does not mean they are dormant. Glia uses chemical signals to interact with one another and with neurons, and they can respond to many of the same chemicals that neurons do, such as ions and neurotransmitters. This means that glia can listen in on the neurons’ conversations to reinforce the messages that are transmitted between them. Also, you must try to play this How Many Brain Cells Do I Have quiz.
In the most recent study, Steven A. Goldman, MD, of Cornell University Medical College in New York City, and colleagues extracted hippocampal tissues from patients undergoing surgery to address brain abnormalities. They were able to extract cells from a specific location containing populations of “seed,” or precursor, cells. The researchers were able to distinguish between these precursor cells and mature cells, which can no longer divide. They were successful in assisting the cells in continuing to divide and develop.
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In an accompanying editorial, Jack P. Antel, MD, and colleagues from McGill University in Montreal write that this method could eventually lead to novel strategies for repairing and restoring cells lost to diseases or damage in the hippocampus, and possibly other parts of the brain.
However, Goldman cautions in an interview with WebMD that “it’s a bit early in the game to consider in practical terms of employing these cells for transplantation purposes.”
Among the issues that must be addressed, according to Goldman, are how to best get these cells to the brain and guarantee that they survive in sufficient numbers after transplant, as well as how to send them to the sections of the brain where they will do the most benefit.
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