Hello again everyone and welcome back. In the last section, we talked about
neuronal structures in relation to Axons and the Soma. In this section we
continue that discussion by beginning to talk about dendrites and their
related structures. So, let’s begin this section by going to slide two.
First, we need to remember is that some neurons don’t contain dendrites;
they only have a Soma and axons. But of those that do, dendrites are the
structures that primarily only receive information. We also need to
remember that Soma receive information as well. The dendrites only receive
information; they do not send information to other structures. Like axons,
dendrites also can branch, and they have multiple branches that you will see
extending off on just one dendrite coming off a Soma.
Dendrites, like axons, also contain a variety of other
structures. These structures are shown and kind of talked about on slide
three. First of all, dendrites have a postsynaptic element and within that
postsynaptic element, it has a postsynaptic membrane. The postsynaptic
membrane is going to have receptor sites, channels, and a variety of other
structures as well. But again, all of these structures are designed to
receive information from other axons and neuropeptides that are out there.
Slide four shows you a review of the presynaptic element
and all of its major structures. So, we have the synaptic vesicles,
reuptake channels, autoreceptors, and calcium channels.
The post-synaptic element, on the other hand, as we see in
slide five, is a little bit different. It also has ion channels, but it
also contains a variety of other structures. The classic one of these is
located within the postsynaptic membrane. These are the receptor sites that
have receptors for particular neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that will
be released.
Slide six basically is a similar type of picture that you
see in slide five, except that it’s just a little bit more detailed and it
has both structures put together. So again, the dendritic side has lots of
branches. Each one of these branches has a postsynaptic element which
contains a variety of structures. Again, all of these particular structures
are designed to receive neuro-transmitters and cause either an excitatory
response or inhibitory response within the next neuron.
In the next section, we will continue to talk about this
more when we talk about synapses, its related structures, and we put all of
this together. So, until then, enjoy your morning, afternoon, or evening,
whichever you’re doing, and we will talk with you soon.
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