NEURON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does neuron mean? 

• NEURON (noun)
  The noun NEURON has 1 sense:

1. a cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses

  Familiarity information: NEURON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NEURON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

nerve cell; neuron

Hypernyms ("neuron" is a kind of...):

somatic cell; vegetative cell (any of the cells of a plant or animal except the reproductive cells; a cell that does not participate in the production of gametes)

Meronyms (parts of "neuron"):

axon; axone (long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron)

dendrite (short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "neuron"):

gangliocyte; ganglion cell (a nerve cell whose body is outside the central nervous system)

brain cell (a nerve cell in the brain)

efferent neuron; motoneuron; motor nerve fiber; motor neuron (a neuron conducting impulses outwards from the brain or spinal cord)

afferent neuron; sensory neuron (a neuron conducting impulses inwards to the brain or spinal cord)

Holonyms ("neuron" is a part of...):

nervous system; systema nervosum (the sensory and control apparatus consisting of a network of nerve cells)

Derivation:

neural; neuronal; neuronic (of or relating to neurons)

 Context examples 

After treatment, dopamine neurons from patients with type 2 and type 1 Gaucher disease with Parkinson’s disease also showed less buildup of the fatty material and alpha-synuclein.

(Molecule may impact Gaucher, Parkinson’s disease, NIH)

The sigma‑1 receptor is a very small protein present in neurons, and is capable of modulating the action of opioid receptors.

(Scientists make white blood cells to alleviate pain, instead of producing it, during tissue inflammation, University of Granada)

Importantly, cerebral organoids contain different neuronal cell types, which allowed the investigators to assess the sensitivity of neural stem cells and neurons to LACV infection.

(Cerebral organoid model provides clues about how to prevent virus-induced brain cell death, National Institutes of Health)

Neurons in the olfactory epithelium with proteins (RECEPTORS, ODORANT) that bind, and thus detect, odorants.

(Murine Olfactory Receptor Neurons, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Sodium lactate was previously shown to activate brain regions associated with orexin-secreting neurons.

(The Mechanism of Panic Attacks, NIH, US)

This protein is involved in both the function and survival of dopaminergic neurons.

(Mesencephalic Astrocyte-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, NCI Thesaurus)

CCR4, a G-coupled-protein receptor for C-C chemokines such MIP-1, RANTES, TARC and MCP-1, is expressed on the surfaces of some types of T cells, endothelial cells, and some types of neurons.

(Mogamulizumab, NCI Thesaurus)

A synapse between the axons of two neurons.

(Axoaxonic Synapse, NCI Thesaurus)

Clusters of neurons and their processes in the autonomic nervous system.

(Autonomic Ganglion, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

These neurons transmit messages from your brain and spinal cord to your voluntary muscles - the ones you can control, like in your arms and legs.

(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)