I read we have 100 billion neurons in our body and countless parallel pathways from the brain to each nerve endings. How does the brain send electrical signals to the exact area of the body and somehow not deviate to a different path along the way?

Question

Also, with the constant electrical signals being sent to and from body parts and the brain, how does the signal not get confused or cancelled out when they pass each other. Is there some kind of ‘gate’ or ‘switch’ on every nerve branch or something?

In: Biology

Answer 1

This is a pretty complicated question, but I believe it has to do with each neuron having several arms (axon endings) that connect to several other neurons. A particular pattern of oncoming signals causes a particular pattern of outgoing signals. These signals cascade through the brain, forming waves, so each signal is part of a wave which acts to separate that signal from a signal in a separate wave.