Nervous tissue

Nervous tissue is a specialized biological tissue found in animals that is composed primarily of neurons (nerve cells) and supporting glial cells. It is the main component of the nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord (central nervous system, CNS), and peripheral nerves (peripheral nervous system, PNS). Nervous tissue is structurally and functionally diverse, consisting of grey matter (cell bodies, dendrites, unmyelinated axons, glial cells) and white matter (myelinated axons, specific glial cells) in the CNS, and ganglia and nerves in the PNS. Its chief role is to communicate signals—through electrical impulses—between different parts of the body, enabling sensory perception, motor control, cognition, and homeostasis[1][3][6]. Additional details: - Nervous tissue is not a single molecule, receptor, enzyme, ion channel, or drug target; it is a complex, multicellular tissue composed of various cell types including neurons and glial cells[1][3][4][6]. - This term covers a broad anatomical and functional entity, not a molecular therapeutic target. Drugs typically interact with molecular targets expressed in nervous tissue (such as "dopamine receptor" or "sodium channel"), rather than the whole tissue itself. - If a specific molecular target within nervous tissue is of interest (e.g., a receptor or ion channel), a more specific name is needed. In summary, "Nervous tissue" refers to a major animal tissue type, not a defined drug target or receptor[1][3][6].

Other names

Neural tissue