Neurones have been around a long time, they are the patriarchs of the Central Nervous System. Nerve cells first appear in the evolutionary tree 600 millions of years ago providing the communications net of multicellular organisms such as the Hydra.
These slowly evolving organism take instructions directly from their DNA and have only a limited range of behaviours, which nonetheless appear sufficient for their needs.
An organism can be understood in the following way, where the neurones carry the signal and give rise to a behaviour
Environmental Sensation —> Processor —> Organism Output
Input from the environment go to
– their programmes come from their DNA. From the moment of conception or cell division, the DNA blueprint starts to work its magic and the organism is formed in a manner that reflects its genetic provenance as shaped by its environment.
They are the name given to cells that transfer information from Point A to Point B, whether that is a sensation from a touch on the skin or a light in the eye, the information is collected centrally, processed and the organism reacts or otherwise depending on what other stimuli it has received and its level of sophistication.
Neurones have held centre stage for over a hundred and fifty years since Cajal, Golgi and Virchow first started to examine the human brain. They also knew about the neurones, and these were identified