Addiction
How Drugs Work In The Brain Part 3
Neuronal Structure
These pathways are made up of neurons. This image contains real neurons from the thalamus. They have been filled with a fluorescent dye and viewed through a microscope.
The anatomy of a neuron; the cell body (soma), dendrites and axon (marked with text).
At the end of the axon is the terminal, which makes a connection with another neuron.
Note: the axon has been drawn in for clarity, but actually, the axons of these neurons travel to the cerebral cortex.
Neuronal Structure
Impulse Flow
The normal direction of the flow of information (electrical and chemical). An electrical impulse (the action potential) travels down the axon toward the terminal.
Impulse Flow
The terminal makes a connection with the dendrite of neighboring neuron, where it passes on chemical information. The area of connection is called the synapse.
While the synapse between a terminal and a dendrite (shown here) is quite typical, other types of synapses exist as well, for example, a synapse can occur between a terminal and a soma or axon.
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