Page 6 - Strength Based Approach to Executive Function Skills
P. 6
How the Brain Develops: Part 2
Neurons: the amazing brain cell
Our brain is made up of lots of
cells called neurons.
Neurons are shaped a bit like a tree,
with a main trunk (the axon)
and branches (called dendrites).
Neural Firing: the brain’s postal system
Whenever we think, do or
say anything, neurons
pass information to each
other through an
electrical signal.
It’s a bit like a letter in the post – information starts in one
place and travels to another.
When a neuron fires an electrical signal, it travels down
the trunk of the neuron and releases special brain
chemicals called ‘neurotransmitters’.
These brain chemicals and the ‘branches’ of the neuron
help the signal to travel across a gap (called the synapse)
to the next neuron.
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