interneuron

[in-ter-noor-on, -nyoor-]

noun

Cell Biology.

1. any neuron having its cell body, axon, and dendrites entirely within the central nervous system, especially one that conveys impulses between a motor neuron and a sensory neuron.

interneuron

/ ˌɪntəˈnjʊərɒn /

noun

1. Also called: internuncial neuron. physiol any neuron that connects afferent and efferent neurons in a reflex arc

Other Word Forms

• interneuronal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of interneuron¹

First recorded in 1935–40; inter- + neuron

Example Sentences

They discovered that a protein called MEIS2 plays an important role when a precursor cell 'decides' whether it should turn into an interneuron or into a projection neuron: MEIS2 assists the cellular machinery to activate the genes that are required for a precursor cell to become a projection neuron.

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"Our study further provides a link between the MAP6 dysfunction and the interneuron signal dysfunction, and we now know that there are two proteins that interact and that one could alter the other," Gu said.

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Motor neurons have often been thought of as passive cells controlled by upstream interneuron inputs, whereas interneurons had been thought to be the driving force behind the assembly and function of spinal motor circuits4.

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Wan et al. therefore asked whether this activity originates in the motor neurons themselves, or reflects interneuron control.

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But over the past few years, evidence has emerged that both developing5 and mature6 motor neurons can control their connections to interneurons, and even control interneuron activity.

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