Ch. 3 Notes Video notes the nervous system helps to sense things around us Neuron is also known as the nerve cell and is the basic building block of the nervous system Receptor- Neurons help in receiving, processing, and transmitting information 3 components of neurons soma dendrites short projections or extensions that stretch out of the cell body think of medusa pick up impulses from receptors and pass it to the cell body axon a long thread-like projection of the neuron It has an insulating and protective sheath called myelin sheath made of fats and proteins the neurons carry messages in the form of electrical signals called nerve impulses the impulses then travel along the axon axon passese these impulses to another neuron cell body consists of cytoplasm and nucleus