1. Dendrites: These are typically short, branched extensions that receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors. They act like "antennae", picking up chemical signals called neurotransmitters released from other neurons. These signals can be excitatory (promoting the neuron to fire) or inhibitory (suppressing the neuron from firing).
2. Axon: This is a single, long extension that transmits signals away from the cell body towards other neurons, muscles, or glands. It acts like a "wire" carrying electrical signals (action potentials) generated at the cell body. The axon can branch out to reach multiple target cells, allowing a single neuron to communicate with many others.
Here's a helpful analogy: imagine a neuron as a tree. The dendrites are the branches that collect leaves (signals) from other trees. The axon is the trunk that carries the collected leaves (signals) down to other parts of the forest (target cells).
