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Copyright © 1997, Jay Ligda.  All rights reserved.  Published by Humans in the Universe and Jay Ligda.

The Nerve Cell

      The nerve cell is a specialized cell that can transmit information to other nerve cells very rapidly (Edelman, 1991).  Nerve cells are connected through long arms called axons.  The axons connect to the body of another nerve cell or on one of its many branches called a dendrite through what is called a synapse.  A neurotransmitter crosses the synapse from the axon of one nerve cell to the dendrite of another.  This triggers an electric impulse that shoots across the nerve cell to another axon where a chemical message can be sent to another cell.  Through a long chain of neurons, messages can be sent quickly from one end of an organism to the other (Edelman, 1991).  It is this network of neurons that made up the first nervous systems and, according to a materialist perspective, is what is typically called mind (Dennett, 1991).

by Jay Ligda

(This work is a all or part of an original work first published/written for John. F. Kennedy University:  Final Integrative Project., Mar1996.)


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References

  • Dennet, D. (1991).  Consciousness Explained.  Boston, MA:  Little, Brown.
  • Edelman, G. M. (1991).  Bright Air, Brilliant Fire:  On the Matter of the Mind.  New York, NY:  Harper Collins.
  • Pearson, D. & Shaw, S. (1982).  Life Extension:  A Practical Scientific Approach.  New York, NY:  Warner.

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