Image of the Week

A Link to the Present

  • Published5 Dec 2017
  • Reviewed5 Dec 2017
  • Author Charlie Wood
  • Source BrainFacts/SfN
bipolar neurone
Mónica Folgueira, Wellcome Images.

When trying to tell neurons apart, count the limbs. While most human neurons feature at least three extensions, one variety–bipolar neurons–has only two, as seen here shining green in an adult zebrafish.

Their shape, with the branches of one end bringing in signals and the other relaying them away, makes the cells well suited to gathering and then passing on information.

For example, bipolar neurons in the inner nose connect the skin there with an odor-interpreting organ deeper in the brain. With similar connections in the retina and inner ear, these cells help link our brains with the external world via smell, sound, and sight.


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