Written by Dhruv Girish
We all love talking to our friends and sharing secrets. Who knew that our nerves do the same thing? Our nerve cells in our body make up the system that we call the nervous system. This intricate system is responsible for different functions that we participate in every day. Think of your nervous system as the command center for all body functions. Your thoughts, movements, and responses to the world, are all thanks to your nervous system. Our nervous system is made up of tiny neurons, talking to each other constantly to make the decisions needed to keep us alive. These neurons talk using a special chemical that we call neurotransmitters. The process that neurons release neurotransmitters is similar to a conversation. For example, if you accidentally touch something hot, you immediately spring back and retract your arm! Well, that is thanks to your nervous system and the neurons talking to each other to protect our bodies from danger.
Before we dive deeper into how our nerves talk to each other, let's talk about what a neuron is, and the structure of the neuron. The neuron is broken up into many parts; it starts with the axon terminal and goes up to the dendrites.
The axons are responses for sending messages out; think of axons as the people who are speaking and the dendrites are the ones receiving or listening to the conversation. In fact, these conversations are happening millions of times every second! It is amazing how much they can do in such a short amount of time. The axons and dendrites meet at a gap which we call a synapse. The neuron, when trying to send out these messages, sends an electrical impulse through the axon until it reaches the end of the axon (the end is called an "axon terminal"). Think of the terminal as a road, and each terminal leads to another neuron and transports the neurotransmitters to the next neuron to send out messages. When the electrical impulse finally reaches the axon terminal, it spills into the synapse and can then be picked up by a protein called receptors found in the dendrite. Neurotransmitters can transport signals from nerve cells to other nerve cells, muscle cells, and gland cells.
So what’s its purpose? These transmitters are found in many places in the body but are most
commonly known to be found in the brain. It can regulate our breathing, and our heartbeat, but can also contribute to concentration, sleep, and mood. If you had a good night's sleep, thank your neurotransmitters, who are hard at work!
We have more than 100 different transmitters in our body including:
Acetylcholine - responsible for activation of muscles
Norepinephrine - responsible for increasing heart rate and blood pressure
Dopamine - responsible for pleasure and rewards
Gaba - responsible for anxiety and finally
serotonin - responsible for our happiness
All of these different neurotransmitters are responsible for our emotions and who we are as a person. The next time, you are feeling happy, think about all the work your body goes through to make you feel the way you do! We depend on our neurons because they are essential to helping us make everyday decisions. Our brain and spinal cord are all made up of tiny neurons and it is important to protect them from damage because we depend on them to keep up functioning properly every single day.
Sources
Sandoiu, Ana. “What goes on inside the brain of a psychopath?” MedicalNewsToday, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318315 .
Study.com. “Neurotransmitters Lesson for Kids.” Study.com, https://study.com/academy/lesson/neurotransmitters-lesson-for-kids.html .