Brain Basics Brain Basics

T H E L IFE

AND D EATH

OF A NEURON
Introduction

Until recently, most neuroscientists thought we were born with all the neurons

we were ever going to have. As children we might produce some new neurons

to help build the pathways – called neural circuits – that act as information

highways between different areas of the brain. But scientists believed that

once a neural circuit was in place, adding any new neurons would disrupt

the flow of information and disable the brain’s communication system.

In 1962, scientist Joseph Altman challenged this belief when he saw

evidence of neurogenesis (the birth of neurons) in a region of the adult rat brain called the hippocampus. He

later reported that newborn neurons migrated from their birthplace in the hippocampus to other parts of the

brain. In 1979, another scientist, Michael Kaplan, confirmed Altman’s findings in the rat brain, and in 1983 he

found neural precursor cells in the forebrain of an adult monkey.

These discoveries about neurogenesis in the adult brain were surprising to other researchers who didn’t think

they could be true in humans. But in the early 1980s, a scientist trying to understand how birds learn to sing

suggested that neuroscientists look again at neurogenesis in the adult brain and begin to see how it might

make sense. In a series of experiments, Fernando Nottebohm and his research team showed that the numbers

of neurons in the forebrains of male canaries dramatically increased during the mating season. This was the

same time in which the birds had to learn new songs to attract females.

Why did these bird brains add neurons at such a critical time in learning? Nottebohm believed it was because

fresh neurons helped store new song patterns within the neural circuits of the forebrain, the area of the brain

that controls complex behaviors. These new neurons made learning possible. If birds made new neurons to

help them remember and learn, Nottebohm thought the brains of mammals might too.

Other scientists believed these findings could not apply to mammals, but Elizabeth Gould later found evidence

of newborn neurons in a distinct area of the brain in monkeys, and Fred Gage and Peter Eriksson showed that

the adult human brain produced new neurons in a similar area.

For some neuroscientists, neurogenesis in the adult brain is still an unproven theory. But others think the

evidence offers intriguing possibilities about the role of adult-generated neurons in learning and memory.
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nucleus

1

neuron (cell body)

6

oligodendrocyte (glia

4 

astrocyte (glial cell)

T H E A R CHITECTURE O F

5 

axon

3 

dendrite

7 

axon te
The central nervous system (which includes the brain

and spinal cord) is made up of two basic types of

cells: neurons and glia & . Glia

outnumber neurons by a substantial amount -- some

scientists have estimated it to be as large as nine to

one -- but in spite of their smaller numbers, neurons

are the key players in the brain. 

Neurons are information messengers. They use

electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit

information between different areas of the brain, and

between the brain and the rest of the nervous system.

Everything we think and feel and do would be

impossible without the work of neurons and their

support cells, the glial cells called astrocytes

and oligodendrocytes .

Neurons have three basic parts: a cell body

and two extensions called an axon and a

dendrite . Within the cell

which controls the cell’s activities and contains the

cell’s genetic material. The axon looks like a long

tail and transmits messages from the cell. Dendrites

look like the branches of a tree and receive messages

for the cell. Neurons communicate with each other

by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters,

across a tiny space, called a synapse, between the

axons and dendrites of adjacent neurons. 

There are three classes of neurons:

1) Sensory neurons carry information from the

sense organs (such as the eyes and ears) to the brain. 

2) Motor neurons have long axons and carry

information from the central nervous system to the

muscles and glands of the body. 

3) Interneurons have short axons and

communicate only within their immediate region. 

Scientists think that neurons are the most diverse kind

of cell in the body. Within these three classes of

neurons are hundreds of different types, each with

specific message-carrying abilities. 

How these neurons communicate with each other by

making connections is what makes each of us unique

in how we think, and feel, and act. 

3

5

6

4

1 4 6

It would take 30,000

neurons just to cover

the head of a pin. 

al cell)

THE N EURON

rminals

body is the nucleus , 2
Birth 

The extent to which new neurons are generated in the

brain is a controversial subject among neuroscientists.

Although the majority of neurons are already present in

our brains by the time we are born, there is evidence to

support that neurogenesis (the scientific word for the birth

of neurons) is a lifelong process. 

Neurons are born in areas of the brain that are rich

in concentrations of neural precursor cells (also called

neural stem cells). These cells have the potential to

generate most, if not all, of the different types of

neurons and glia found in the brain. 

Neuroscientists have observed how neural precursor

cells behave in the laboratory. Although this may not

be exactly how these cells behave when they are in the

brain, it gives us information about how they could be

behaving when they are in the brain’s environment. 

The science of stem cells is still very new, and could

change with additional discoveries, but researchers have

learned enough to be able to describe how neural stem

cells generate the other cells of the brain. They call it

a stem cell’s lineage and it is similar in principle to a

family tree. 

Neural stem cells increase by dividing in two and

producing either two new stem cells, or two early

progenitor cells, or one of each.

When a stem cell divides to produce another stem cell,

it is said to self-renew. This new cell has the potential to

make more stem cells.

When a stem cell divides to produce an early progenitor

cell, it is said to differentiate. Differentiation means that

the new cell is more specialized in form and function.

An early progenitor cell does not have the potential of

a stem cell to make many different types of cells. It can

only make cells in its particular lineage.

Early progenitor cells can self-renew or go in either of

two ways. One type will give rise to astrocytes. The

other type will ultimately produce neurons or

oligodendrocytes.

www.ninds.nih.gov

The axon of a single nerve

cell can run half the length

of a human body.
Migration

Once a neuron is born it has to travel to the place in the

brain where it will do its work. 

How does a neuron know where to go?

What helps it get there?

Scientists have seen that neurons use at least two

different methods to travel:

1) Some neurons migrate by following the long fibers of

cells called radial glia. These fibers extend from the

inner layers to the outer layers of the brain. Neurons

glide along the fibers until they reach their destination.

2) Neurons also travel by using chemical signals.

Scientists have found special molecules on the surface of

neurons -- adhesion molecules -- that bind with similar

molecules on nearby glial cells or nerve axons. These

chemical signals guide the neuron to its final location. 

Not all neurons are successful in their journey. Scientists

think that only a third reach their destination. The rest

either never differentiate, or die and disappear at some

point during the two to three week phase of migration.

Some neurons survive the trip, but end up where they

shouldn’t be. Mutations in the genes that control

migration create areas of misplaced or oddly formed

neurons that can cause disorders such as childhood

epilepsy or mental retardation. Some researchers

suspect that schizophrenia and the learning disorder

dyslexia are partly the result of misguided neurons.

Some neurons migrate by riding along extensions

(radial glia) until they reach their final destination.

A Differentiating Neuron 
Differentiation

Once a neuron reaches its destination, it has to settle

in to work. This final step of differentiation is the least

well-understood part of neurogenesis. 

Neurons are responsible for the transport and uptake of

neurotransmitters – chemicals that relay information

between brain cells. 

Depending on its location, a neuron can perform the job

of a sensory neuron, a motor neuron, or an interneuron,

sending and receiving specific neurotransmitters. 

In the developing brain, a neuron depends on molecular

signals from other cells, such as astrocytes, to determine

its shape and location, the kind of transmitter it produces,

and to which other neurons it will connect. These freshly

born cells establish neural circuits – or information

pathways connecting neuron to neuron – that will be in

place throughout adulthood. 

But in the adult brain, neural circuits are already

developed and neurons must find a way to fit in.

Researchers suspect that astrocytes play a similar role

in the adult brain, actively regulating the function and

synapse formation of new neurons. 

As a new neuron settles in, it starts to look like

surrounding cells. It develops an axon and dendrites

and begins to communicate with its neighbors.

Self renewing

stem cells

Early

progenitor cells

Neuron Oligodendrocyte Astrocyte

Stem cells differentiate to produce

different types of nerve cells.

Cell Lineage
Death

Although neurons are the longest living cells in the body,

large numbers of them die during migration and

differentiation. 

The lives of some neurons can take abnormal turns.

Some diseases of the brain are the result of the unnatural

deaths of neurons. 

— In Parkinson’s disease, neurons that produce the

neurotransmitter dopamine die off in the basal ganglia,

an area of the brain that controls body movements. The

brain can no longer control the body and people shake

and jerk in spasms.

— In Huntington’s disease, a genetic mutation causes

over-production of a neurotransmitter called glutamate,

which kills neurons in the basal ganglia. As a result,

people twist and writhe uncontrollably.

— In Alzheimer’s disease, unusual proteins build

up in and around neurons in the neocortex and

hippocampus, parts of the brain that control memory.

When these neurons die, people lose their capacity to

remember and their ability to do everyday tasks.

Physical damage to the brain and other parts of the

central nervous system can also kill or disable neurons.

— Blows to the brain, or the damage caused by a

stroke, can kill neurons outright or slowly starve them of

the oxygen and nutrients they need to survive. 

— Spinal cord injury can disrupt communication

between the brain and muscles when neurons lose their

connection to axons located below the site of injury.

These neurons may still live, but they lose their ability

to communicate. 

One method of cell death results from

the release of excess glutamate.

Macrophages (green) eat dying neurons

in order to clear debris.

A Diseased Neuron A Dying Neuron
Hope Through Research

Scientists hope that by understanding more about the life

and death of neurons they can develop new treatments,

and possibly even cures, for brain diseases and disorders

that affect the lives of millions of Americans. 

The most current research suggests that neural stem cells

can generate many, if not all, of the different types of

neurons found in the brain and the nervous system.

Learning how to manipulate these stem cells in the

laboratory into specific types of neurons could produce a

fresh supply of brain cells to replace those that have died

or been damaged. 

Therapies could also be created to take advantage of

growth factors and other signaling mechanisms inside the

brain that tell precursor cells to make new neurons. This

would make it possible to repair, reshape, and renew the

brain from within. 

www.ninds.nih.gov

“Know Your Brain,” another brochure

in this Brain Basics series, explains the

anatomy and function of the human

brain. For copies, contact the NINDS.
www.ninds.nih.gov

Prepared by

Office of Communications

and Public Liaison

National Institute of

Neurological Disorders 

and Stroke at the National

Institutes of Health

Bethesda, MD 20892

NIH Publication No. 02-3440d

U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services

Public Health Service

September 2002

The National Institute of 

Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Since its creation by Congress in 1950, the National

Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has

grown to become the nation’s leading supporter of

biomedical research on the brain and nervous system.

Most research funded by the NINDS is conducted by

scientists in public and private institutions such as

universities, medical schools, and hospitals. Government

scientists also conduct a wide array of neurological

research in the more than 20 laboratories and branches of

the NINDS itself. This research ranges from studies on the

structure and function of single brain cells to tests of new

diagnostic tools and treatments for those with neurological

disorders. For more information, write or call the Institute's

Brain Resources and Information Network (BRAIN) at:

BRAIN

P.O. Box 5801

Bethesda, Maryland 20824

1-800-352-9424

braininfo@ninds.nih.gov