Module A: Plasticity

Question 1

Approximately how many synapses are estimated to be present in the human brain?

Answer 1

10 trillion synapses.

10, 000, 000, 000, 000.

10^12.

Question 2

What is the soma, in neuroanatomy?

Answer 2

The cell body of a neuron.

Question 3

What are the key features of synapses?

Answer 3

• Highly specialized sites of neuronal contact.
• Enable rapid (<10ms) neuron-neuron communication, permitting circuit formation within the brain.
• Synapses transduce electrical signals (action potentials) into chemical information (and back again).