Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist affiliated with the University of London in the Institute of Philosophy, gives us a rundown on neurons.

About Daniel Glaser
"I’m a neuroscientist who has looked at visual perception in the brain and Head of Special Projects in public engagement at The Wellcome Trust.

I work on making connections between science and people who are not scientists. I am affiliated with the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London and work at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Google."

What is a neuron?

If we unpack the word neuroscience, we can see it is composed of “neuro” and “science”. The latter refers to the scientific explanation, the principally biological story that we’re telling in neuroscience as opposed to psychology or other domains. “Neuro” refers to neurons, a class of cell within the body whose purpose is to transmit information.

Almost all neurons have a cell body, which is similar to the body of most other cells, but with physical elements that are often elongated as if they were wires. They also have inputs and outputs through which they send information and do some sort of – we might venture to say – computation: they add inputs up, compare them, and if they are satisfied with the answer, they fire an output. I say fire because neurons use electrical signalling to send information along these wires or axons. Chemistry, as well as electricity, is also part of the story. The neurons are each connected by a chemical junction. This chemical “soup” within which the neuron is bathed affects its processing so it can get signals and information from hormones and chemicals in the area.

Key Points

• A neuron is, in essence, a biological signalling device.
• What the cortex is doing is layer upon layer of model-making, of prediction, of trying to simulate the world in order to manipulate it better.
• Humans run simulations of what we think the systems within us are going to do. The brain predicts what will happen to our body after we do something, even though the effect has not occurred yet.