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| The information-processing cell of the nervous system; also called nerve cell. Most neurons use action potentials to send signals over a distance, and all neurons communicate with one another using synaptic transmission. |
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| A support cell in the nervous system. Glia are classified into four categories: astrocytes, oligodendroglia, Schwann cells, and microglia. Astrocytes regulate the extracellular environment of the brain, oligodendroglia and Schwann cells provide myelin, and microglia scavenge debris. |
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| The microscopic study of the structure of tissues. |
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| A class of basic dyes that stain the somata of neurons; named for its discoverer, German histologist Franz Nissl (1860–1919). |
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| The arrangement of neuronal cell bodies in various parts of the brain. |
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| A method of staining brain tissue that shows neurons and all of their neurites; named for its discoverer, Italian histologist Camillo Golgi (1843–1926). |
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| The central region of the neuron containing the nucleus; also called soma or perikaryon. |
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| The central region of the neuron containing the nucleus; also called cell body or perikaryon. |
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| The central region of the neuron containing the nucleus; also called soma or cell body. |
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| A thin tube extending from a neuronal cell body; the two types are axons and dendrites. |
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| A neurite specialized to conduct nerve impulses, or action potentials, normally away from the soma. |
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| A neurite specialized to receive synaptic inputs from other neurons. |
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| The concept that the neuron is the elementary functional unit of the brain and that neurons communicate with each other by contact, not continuity. |
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| The watery fluid inside a cell |
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| A membrane-enclosed structure inside a cell; examples are the nucleus, mitochondrion, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus. |
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| Cellular material contained by the cell membrane, including the organelles but excluding the nucleus. |
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| (1) The roughly spherical organelle in a cell body containing the chromosomes. (2) A clearly distinguishable mass of neurons, usually deep in the brain. |
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| A structure in the cell nucleus containing a single linear thread of DNA. |
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| DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) |
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| A double-stranded molecule constructed from four nucleic acids that contains the genetic instructions for a cell. |
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| A unit of heredity; a sequence of DNA that encodes a single polypeptide or protein. |
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| The process of transcribing the information from a gene into messenger RNA; a gene is a segment of DNA carrying the instructions for a single protein. |
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| A polymer of amino acids strung together by peptide bonds. |
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| The assembly of protein molecules in the cell’s cytoplasm according to genetic instructions. |
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| mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) |
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| A molecule constructed from four nucleic acids that carries the genetic instructions for the assembly of a protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. |
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| The process of synthesizing a messenger RNA molecule according to genetic instructions encoded in DNA. |
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| A region of DNA that binds RNA polymerase to initiate gene transcription. |
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| A protein that regulates the binding of RNA polymerase to a gene promoter. |
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| The process by which introns, the regions of a primary RNA transcript that are not used to code protein, are removed. |
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| A chemical building block of protein molecules, containing a central carbon atom, an amino group, a carboxyl group, and a variable R group. |
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| The process of synthesizing a protein molecule according to genetic instructions carried by a messenger RNA molecule. |
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| A cellular organelle that assembles new proteins from amino acids according to the instructions carried by messenger RNA. |
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| rough endoplasmic reticulum (rough ER) |
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| A membrane-enclosed cellular organelle with ribosomes attached to its outer surface; a site of synthesis for proteins destined to be inserted into membrane or to be enclosed by membrane. |
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| smooth endoplasmic reticulum (smooth ER) |
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| ATP (adenosine triphosphate) |
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