An illustrated neuron graphic

“Neuron” by NIH-NCATS is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Our brain contains about 100 billion neurons; it looks like a neuron forest. because a neuron is more or less similar to a tree. Neurons are a special kind of cell. At one end, it sprouts a large number of very thin short threads – “dendrites”. The ends of these receive electrical signals from other neurons via small fluid-filled ponds – “synapses”. The received signals pass along until it reaches the tree (cell) body. From there, it shoots away to the next neuron through another thicker branch; it is named “Axon”. So, dendrites take electrical…

“Homunculus” refers to a small human or a “humanoid” creature. Do we have it on our brain surface? Yes, we can find a homunculus (figuratively) as a map in our brain. Not just one, in fact, we have “two little humanoids”!. This is the story behind this amazing discovery. In 1937, two brilliant scientists, Dr Wilder Penfield and Edwin Boldrey embarked on a journey to unravel the mysteries of the human brain. They were operating at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada with a mission to map the brain regions that receive sensory information from the skin and those that send…