| Pyramidal cell | | A human neocortical pyramidal neuron stained via Golgi technique. Notice the apical dendrite extending vertically above the soma and the numerous basal dendrites radiating laterally from the base of the cell body. | | Location | Cortex esp. Layers III and V | | Function | excitatory projection neuron | | Neurotransmitter | Glutamate | | Morphology | Multipolar Pyramidal | | Presynaptic connections | Superficial cortical layers | | Postsynaptic connections | Varies (see text) | | Gray's | subject #183 722 | A pyramidal cell (or pyramidal neuron, or projection neuron) is a multipolar neuron located in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. These cells have a triangularly shaped soma, or cell body, a single apical dendrite extending towards the pial surface, multiple basal dendrites, and a single axon. Pyramidal neurons compose approximately 80% of the neurons of the cortex, and release glutamate as their neurotransmitter, making them the major excitatory component of the cortex (see synapse). Image File history File links GolgiStainedPyramidalCell. ...
A pyramidal cell is a multipolar neuron located in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. ...
Drawing by Camillo Golgi of a hippocampus stained with the silver nitrate method Drawing of a Purkinje cell in the cerebellum cortex done by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, clearly demonstrating the power of Golgis staining method to reveal fine detail Golgis method is a nervous tissue staining...
Location of the cerebral cortex Slice of the cerebral cortex, ca. ...
Glutamate is the anion of glutamic acid. ...
The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. ...
Superficial is a general term meaning regarding the surface, often metaphorically. ...
The multipolar neuron possesses a single (usually long) axon and many dendrites, allowing for the integration of a great deal of information from other neurons. ...
Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of neurons in the pigeon cerebellum. ...
The hippocampus is structurally located inside the medial temporal lobe of the brain. ...
Location of the cerebral cortex Slice of the cerebral cortex, ca. ...
The soma is the bulbous end of a neuron, containing the nucleus. ...
An apical dendrite is a dendrite that emerges from the apex of a pyramidal cell. ...
A basal dendrite is a dendrite that emerges from the base of a pyramidal cell. ...
An axon or nerve fiber, is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neurons cell body or soma. ...
Glutamate is the anion of glutamic acid. ...
Chemical structure of D-Aspartic Acid, a common Amino Acid neurotransmitter. ...
Illustration of the major elements in a prototypical synapse. ...
In the primary motor cortex, layer V pyramidal cells are extremely large. These cells are called Betz cells. Their cell bodies can be as large as 100 micrometers in humans. Typical human pyramidal cell bodies range from 10 to 50 micrometers. Also, any pyramidal cell that faces the opposite direction of a Betz cell (i.e. its longest dendrite faces the opposite direction of all of the other Betz cells) is known as a Martinotti cell. The primary motor area is a group of networked cells in mammalian brains that controls movements of specific body parts associated with cell groups in that area of the brain. ...
Betz cells are pyramidal cell neurons located within the fifth layer of the grey matter in the primary motor cortex. ...
Martinotti cells are small multipolar neurons with short branching dendrites. ...
Pyramidal cells are tall and conical, triangular in tissue sections. Their apex points toward the brain surface and has a thick dendrite with many branches, and small, knobby dendritic spines. The base gives rise to horizontally oriented dendrites, and an axon that passes into the white matter. Pyramidal cells are the output neurons of the cerebrum. They transmit signals to other parts of the CNS. Their axons have collaterals that synapse with other neurons in the cortex or in deeper regions of the brain.
See also
Location of the cerebral cortex Slice of the cerebral cortex, ca. ...
The corticospinal or pyramidal tract is a massive collection of axons that travel between the cerebral cortex of the brain, and the spinal cord. ...
External links | Histology: nervous tissue | | Neurons (gray matter) | soma, axon (axon hillock, axoplasm, axolemma, neurofibril/neurofilament), dendrite (Nissl body, dendritic spine) types (bipolar, pseudounipolar, multipolar, pyramidal, Purkinje, granule) | | Afferent nerve/Sensory nerve/Sensory neuron | GSA, GVA, SSA, SVA, fibers Ia, Ib or Golgi, II or Aβ, III or Aδ or fast pain, IV or C or slow pain | | Efferent nerve/Motor nerve/Motor neuron | GSE, GVE, SVE, Upper motor neuron, Lower motor neuron (Aα motorneuron, Aγ motorneuron) | | Synapses | neuropil, synaptic vesicle, neuromuscular junction, electrical synapse - Interneuron (Renshaw) | | Sensory receptors | Free nerve ending, Meissner's corpuscle, Merkel nerve ending, Muscle spindle, Pacinian corpuscle, Ruffini ending, Olfactory receptor neuron, Photoreceptor cell, Hair cell, Taste bud | | Glial cells | astrocyte, ependymal cells, microglia, radial glia | | Myelination (white matter) | Schwann cell, oligodendrocyte, nodes of Ranvier, internode, Schmidt-Lanterman incisures, neurolemma | | Related connective tissues | epineurium, perineurium, endoneurium, nerve fascicle, meninges | |