Nerve Cell
Nervous? Relax, and trust your impulses.
Children, parents and educators will enjoy using these educational
plush toys to teach about hygiene, disease and the human body. Each
microbe comes with a description of the disease it causes or function it
performs. Use these fun, non-threatening toys to emphasize the
importance of washing hands and preventing sickness in social settings.
Surface wash, air dry. Contains 3 mini microbes.
FACTS: There are a lot of different kinds of
nerve cells. Motor neurons shock our muscles into action; sensory
neurons in our eyes and ears are stimulated by light and sound, on our
nose and tongue by chemicals for smell and taste, and on our skin by
impulses within the central nervous system and the brain. But they all
work in a similar way.
When the dendrites on the dendric tree on the body of a nerve cell
receive a sufficiently strong signal, it irresistibly triggers an
electrical impulse inside the cell that travels down the long, thin axon
(which is protected by a fatty myelin sheath). When the impulse reaches
the axon terminal at the base of the nerve, special signaling chemicals
are released that float across the gap (or synapse) between one nerve
cell and the next-and the process continues.
Most nerve cells are tiny, but some are as long as your leg, literally:
they extend all the way from the base of the spine to the tips of your
toes! Unlike most cells, nerve cells cannot normally reproduce-so if
they get injured, loss of feeling or even paralysis can result.
(Abnormalities in the neurotransmitters or the nerve cell itself can
also lead to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, or multiple sclerosis.)
But don't get nervous; nerve cells are shockingly reliable. And if
you're still feeling jittery, it's probably the neurotransmitters that
are to blame anyway. So wipe off your sweaty palms, take a deep breath,
close your eyes, listen to some music, smell something sweet. . . and
relax. Your nerves will help you do it. |
