ALPHABETICAL BRAIN VOCABULARY Flash Card #2 - Details WHAT ARE YOUR "NEURONS" AND WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? Your NEURONS are specialized brain cells that are able to carry and send "ionic impulses" (electrical signals) all around your brain and also up and down your body. Your Neurons are the very small 100 billion nerve cells of "gray matter" in your brain and spinal cord, which are the basic building blocks of your brain. These microscopic brain structures, which make up about 20% of your brain cells, make possible your ability to communicate with different parts of your body and with other people. They SEND or RECEIVE ionic impulses (electrical signals) to and from your muscles and senses and internal organs, but only in one direction! In addition, all of your neuron cells are connected to each other by your SYNAPSES, which relay electrical signals through an electrochemical process known as "potentiation" or LONG-TERM POTENTIATION. This phenominal process of the "ionic exchange" of potassium and sodium isotopes is known as SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY. It makes possible your ability to learn anything! Synaptic plasticity is the irreducible essence of biological and psycho-social change. It gives you the freedom to change your mind about anything and to change your body's skill-sets. Of course, the process depends upon the help of all the other parts of your brain and nervous system as you make decisions and create new ideas and learn new habits. In short, for the first time in human history, scientific knowledge about the way your NEURONS and SYNAPSES work together can explain what makes possible your self-awareness of yourself as a creative conscious person! Go to: FACT CHECKER Return to flash card #2: NEURONS Return to flash card list: LIST OF FLASH CARDS