In a study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit electrical signals from cell to cell ...

Unlike the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerve cells, whose long extensions reach the skin and internal organs, are capable of regenerating after injury. This is why injuries to the central ...

Human brains (and the brains of other vertebrates) are able to process information faster because of myelin, a fatty substance that forms a protective sheath over the axons of our nerve cells and ...

AMES, Iowa – Researchers looking for ways to regenerate nerves can have a hard time obtaining key tools of their trade. Schwann cells are an example. They form sheaths around axons, the tail-like ...

To rapidly transmit electrical signals in the brain, the long nerve fibers are insulated by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells also respond to the electrical signals of active ...

Researchers use hIL-6 protein to restore walking in paralyzed mice by promoting neural circuit plasticity rather than fiber regrowth.

Electrical impulses that result from the influx and efflux of ions across the plasma membrane of neurons. Programmed cell death, a form of cell death in which a controlled sequence of events (or ...

A gesture as simple as a smile can often convey what words cannot. This is part of why nonverbal communication is so central to human interaction. It is also why facial nerve disorders and injuries ...