Earlier this year, we shared several tidbits of nervous system trivia on our social media channels. We thought we’d compile a few of them here.
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Without further ado, here are 25 things you didn’t know about your nervous system:
- Despite being slower than electrical synapses, chemical synapses greatly increase behavioural flexibility.
- Electrical impulses produced in neurons can be initiated by neurotransmitters (such as serotonin).
- Electricity produced in the axons of our neurons is the increase and decrease of sodium and potassium levels in a cell.
- Neurons in your body use electricity to send messages.
- Microglia cells float around the brain, monitoring it for damage and helping to repair it and remove any foreign matter.
- Astrocyte cells protect the blood-brain barrier by keeping its junctions tight, preventing the introduction of foreign bodies.
- Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by ependymal cells that line the brain’s ventricles.
- Cerebrospinal fluid does more than protect your brain. It also helps remove waste and helps keeps the brain cool.
- There are 3 types of neurons: sensory, motor, and interneurons (talk between the other two).
- Each neuron has tens of thousands of dendritic spines, which allows it to receive information from thousands of other neurons.
- Most neurons in our body are with us for life and cannot be replaced if they are lost through brain or spinal cord damage.
- Neurons change their shape many times throughout their life, growing and eliminating dendrites as needed.
- The longest neurons in your body are part of the sciatic nerve, running from your spine to your big toe.
- Our organs are controlled by collections of neural cells called ganglia, which act like mini brains.
- The autonomic nervous system has 2 divisions: sympathetic (arouses body for action) and parasympathetic (calms body down).
- Your body below your head and neck is controlled by 30 spinal nerves.
- There are 12 pairs of nerves that control the head and neck.
- Parkinson’s and Tourette’s are both disorders of the basal ganglia because they make it difficult to control movement.
- The cortex has 6 layers: 1–3 are integrative, 4 receives info from senses, and 5–6 send info to the rest of the brain.
- Neurons are made of 3 parts: dendrites (receive information), soma (process information), and axons (send information).
- The cortex makes up 80% of the human brain and is the region that has expanded the most throughout human evolution.
- The cortex is made up of 2 parts: the neocortex creates our perceptual world and the limbic cortex controls motivational states.
- The limbic system of the forebrain controls emotion, as well as behaviours that create and require memory.
- The neocortex (cerebral cortex) processes the most complex information the brain receives, including perception and planning.
- Sometimes your spinal cord acts independent of the brain.
What is your favourite piece of nervous system trivia that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.