The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind by A. K. Pradeep Page A
Authors: A. K. Pradeep
Tags: Psychology, Non-Fiction
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transmit information to other nerve, muscle, or gland cells.
Neurons consist of a cell body, dendrites, and an axon (see Figure 4.1).
The cell body contains the nucleus and cytoplasm of the cell. The electrically-excitable axon extends from the cell body to the target and often gives rise to many smaller branches called dendrites. These dendrites extend from the neuron cell body and receive messages from other neurons. Synapses are the contact points where one neuron communicates with another. So if you look at it from another vantage point, a neuron or a neural system is a one-way traffic light, receiving electrical impulses from another neuron, transporting them along the axon, and dispersing them at the target, where neurochemicals and electricity prompt or prohibit movement of that target. As neurons transmit Figure 4.1
The working unit of the brain, a neuron.
dendrite
cell body
nucleus
axon
Source: NeuroFocus, Inc.
P1: OTA/XYZ
P2: ABC
c04
JWBT296-Pradeep
June 5, 2010
13:54
Printer Name: Courier Westford, Westford, MA
The Brain 101
35
electrical impulses along their axons (which range in length from a tenth of an inch to three feet or more!), this electrical current produces tiny voltage changes across the neuron’s cell membrane. These small but highly predictive, sometimes chaotic and noisy, and at other times regular electrical changes allow us to measure with precision how the brain reacts to any stimuli, from medical conditions to marketing messages. But more about that later. We have a bit more to learn about the brain in light of recent scientific breakthroughs.
So, back to the neuron. When a nerve impulse is initiated, a dramatic reversal in the electrical potential occurs at one point on the cell’s membrane, when the neuron switches from an internal negative charge to a positive charge. This change, called an action potential , then passes along the membrane of the axon at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. At this dramatic speed, a neuron can fire impulses up to about 1,000 times a second.
When they reach the end of an axon, these voltage changes trigger the release of neurotransmitters , the brain’s chemical messengers.
Neurotransmitters are released by nerve terminals and bind to receptors on the surface of the target cell. These receptors then act as on-and-off switches for the next cell. There may be tens of thousands of such connections on a neuron modifying the target cell, which has to compute inputs from many cells that contact it—tens of thousands of connections, a thousand times a second in a binary and algorithmic computational dance. Amazing!
How Neurons Gather into Functional
Areas of the Brain
Neurons connect with each other and with distant muscle and gland cells.
These connections form trillions of specific patterns that re-form, grow, and migrate over the course of our lives.
This spectacular neuron specification and migration begins in the human embryo, where the right types of neurons must form in significant numbers to complete their preordained tasks and then must migrate to the appropriate places to form functional units that make up the brain. After they’ve reached their destination, which could be inches or feet from where they started, the neurons extend axons and dendrites to connect to each other.
Remarkably, the axons are then guided, even pulled, by the targets they will activate.
For example, a newly-born neuron that has migrated to the motor area of the brain will extend its axon to the bottom of the spinal cord where it will P1: OTA/XYZ
P2: ABC
c04
JWBT296-Pradeep
June 5, 2010
13:54
Printer Name: Courier Westford, Westford, MA
36
The Buying Brain
target another motor cell that will then control the muscle that moves your big toe. If nurtured properly by its target, that pathway then thrives and functions in a neurochemical partnership.
Birth of Neurons
About four weeks after conception, the ridges on the flat plane of the embryo
Neurons consist of a cell body, dendrites, and an axon (see Figure 4.1).
The cell body contains the nucleus and cytoplasm of the cell. The electrically-excitable axon extends from the cell body to the target and often gives rise to many smaller branches called dendrites. These dendrites extend from the neuron cell body and receive messages from other neurons. Synapses are the contact points where one neuron communicates with another. So if you look at it from another vantage point, a neuron or a neural system is a one-way traffic light, receiving electrical impulses from another neuron, transporting them along the axon, and dispersing them at the target, where neurochemicals and electricity prompt or prohibit movement of that target. As neurons transmit Figure 4.1
The working unit of the brain, a neuron.
dendrite
cell body
nucleus
axon
Source: NeuroFocus, Inc.
P1: OTA/XYZ
P2: ABC
c04
JWBT296-Pradeep
June 5, 2010
13:54
Printer Name: Courier Westford, Westford, MA
The Brain 101
35
electrical impulses along their axons (which range in length from a tenth of an inch to three feet or more!), this electrical current produces tiny voltage changes across the neuron’s cell membrane. These small but highly predictive, sometimes chaotic and noisy, and at other times regular electrical changes allow us to measure with precision how the brain reacts to any stimuli, from medical conditions to marketing messages. But more about that later. We have a bit more to learn about the brain in light of recent scientific breakthroughs.
So, back to the neuron. When a nerve impulse is initiated, a dramatic reversal in the electrical potential occurs at one point on the cell’s membrane, when the neuron switches from an internal negative charge to a positive charge. This change, called an action potential , then passes along the membrane of the axon at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. At this dramatic speed, a neuron can fire impulses up to about 1,000 times a second.
When they reach the end of an axon, these voltage changes trigger the release of neurotransmitters , the brain’s chemical messengers.
Neurotransmitters are released by nerve terminals and bind to receptors on the surface of the target cell. These receptors then act as on-and-off switches for the next cell. There may be tens of thousands of such connections on a neuron modifying the target cell, which has to compute inputs from many cells that contact it—tens of thousands of connections, a thousand times a second in a binary and algorithmic computational dance. Amazing!
How Neurons Gather into Functional
Areas of the Brain
Neurons connect with each other and with distant muscle and gland cells.
These connections form trillions of specific patterns that re-form, grow, and migrate over the course of our lives.
This spectacular neuron specification and migration begins in the human embryo, where the right types of neurons must form in significant numbers to complete their preordained tasks and then must migrate to the appropriate places to form functional units that make up the brain. After they’ve reached their destination, which could be inches or feet from where they started, the neurons extend axons and dendrites to connect to each other.
Remarkably, the axons are then guided, even pulled, by the targets they will activate.
For example, a newly-born neuron that has migrated to the motor area of the brain will extend its axon to the bottom of the spinal cord where it will P1: OTA/XYZ
P2: ABC
c04
JWBT296-Pradeep
June 5, 2010
13:54
Printer Name: Courier Westford, Westford, MA
36
The Buying Brain
target another motor cell that will then control the muscle that moves your big toe. If nurtured properly by its target, that pathway then thrives and functions in a neurochemical partnership.
Birth of Neurons
About four weeks after conception, the ridges on the flat plane of the embryo
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