SUMMARY

  
Signal Reception
Propagation of an action potentiel
Chemical transmission = conversion of electric signal to a chemical signal
What happens when you burn yourself? What tells you that it hurts and makes you remove your hand, for example ?
How is the heart regulated ?
Huntington Disease : Genetic Part 
Huntington Disease : Protein Part 

INTRODUCTION

The functioning of the human body implies a coordinated activity of the cells which composes it. For animals this coordination is assured thanks to two big intercellular systems of communication : the hormonal system and the nervous system.

Neurons, one of the cells that constitute the nervous system, form a complex network of communication both with each other and with target organs such as muscles, glands, the digestive system or sensory organs. It is a two way communication system, in wich commands are sent to the organs (contraction, relaxation, secretion) and information is gathered from them (position, temperature, tension,presence of light, sound, taste substances). For instance, when you burn your hand, you sensory neurons directly pass a message to motor neurons in order to pull away from the hot object  this is called a reflex. We are going to study the principles and the functioning of these mechanisms by which neurons transmit signals.