,• All we can do—perceive, think, learn, remember, act—is made possible by the integrated activity of the cells
of the nervous system.
• Information, in the form of light, sound waves, odors, tastes, or contact with objects, is gathered from the
environment by specialized cells called sensory neurons.
• Movements are accomplished by the contraction of muscles, which are controlled by motor neurons. (The
term motor is used here in its original sense to refer to movement, not to a mechanical engine.)
• And in between sensory neurons and motor neurons come the interneurons—neurons that lie entirely
within the CNS.
• Local interneurons form circuits with nearby neurons and analyze small pieces of information.
• Relay interneurons connect circuits of local interneurons in one region of the brain with those in other
regions
, • Through these connections, circuits of neurons throughout the brain perform functions essential to tasks
such as perceiving, learning, remembering, deciding, and controlling complex behaviors.
• To understand how the nervous system controls behavior, we must first understand its parts—the cells that
compose it.
Cells of the Nervous System
• the most important cells of the nervous system—neurons and their supporting cells—and to the blood–
brain barrier, which provides neurons in the central nervous system with chemical isolation from the rest of
the body.
of the nervous system.
• Information, in the form of light, sound waves, odors, tastes, or contact with objects, is gathered from the
environment by specialized cells called sensory neurons.
• Movements are accomplished by the contraction of muscles, which are controlled by motor neurons. (The
term motor is used here in its original sense to refer to movement, not to a mechanical engine.)
• And in between sensory neurons and motor neurons come the interneurons—neurons that lie entirely
within the CNS.
• Local interneurons form circuits with nearby neurons and analyze small pieces of information.
• Relay interneurons connect circuits of local interneurons in one region of the brain with those in other
regions
, • Through these connections, circuits of neurons throughout the brain perform functions essential to tasks
such as perceiving, learning, remembering, deciding, and controlling complex behaviors.
• To understand how the nervous system controls behavior, we must first understand its parts—the cells that
compose it.
Cells of the Nervous System
• the most important cells of the nervous system—neurons and their supporting cells—and to the blood–
brain barrier, which provides neurons in the central nervous system with chemical isolation from the rest of
the body.
