You need to be aware that reductionists come in for a fair amount of criticism because reductionism appears to rob us of our 'free will'. These are important philosophical questions. You won't get a complete answer in this set of lectures but you will hopefully be in a better position to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the various arguments by the end of the course. In this section we begin to explore some of the ways in which brain cells communicate with each other. The human body consists of billions of cells.
Neurons are brain cells that specialize in communication.
The brain contains circuits of interconnected neurons that pass information between themselves -they are the main decision makers in the body. Here is a picture showing a simple way to remember the various parts of a neuron and the direction of information transmission. In neurons, information passes from dendrites through the cell body and down the axon . This is easy to remember because when you pick up an object the sensation travels from your fingers through your hand and down your arm. Transmission of information through the neuron is an electrical process.