Is nerve cell or neuron easier to understand?

hi danielle

hii

I didn’t realize they were the same :( I’d use the term nerve cell though, b/c neuron - some might mistakenly think you were talking about atoms and subatomic particles (which you’re not, it seems).

I think it’s relative to a person’s education and knowledge, not necessarily their scientific expertise. Personally, I would use neuron, but to someone who doesn’t understand either, there’s really no sense in trying to make it simpler, lol. As Jeremy stated, they may mistake it for neutrons. Use the scientific term for it - you can follow up with a brief explanation of what it is.

The audience is the thing that matters here, but even a non-scientific one may have some people with greater knowledge. I’d say ‘nerve cell - also called a neuron - blah blah…’ then use nerve cell the rest of the time. That way you keep all the audience with you, as the geekier ones will recognise that you’re dumbing down deliberately to help the rest, whilst the non-techies will be grateful that you’re keeping it simple (and marvel at your ability to do so!)

Go with nerve cell because it is pretty obvious what that is even if someone does not have scientific knowledge, however, honestly it doesnt sound dumbed down. I’ve had professors who’ve used the words interchangeably when teaching about the brain.

i would use neuron and glia. people are smarter than you are making them out to be. they will understand neuron if you teach them so.