What are signals between neurons?

Signals between neurons are like secret messages that let your brain tell different parts of your body what to do.

Imagine you and your friend are playing a game with marbles. When you want to pass one marble to your friend, you say a word, that’s like the signal. Your friend hears it and knows to take the marble. In your brain, neurons work kind of like you and your friend. One neuron sends a message to another, telling it to do something.

Neurons use special chemicals called neurotransmitters, which are like tiny helpers that carry the message across a little gap between two neurons, this gap is called the synapse. It's just like when you throw a ball to your friend across the room, and they catch it.

When the message arrives at the next neuron, it can keep going, maybe even telling more neurons what to do! This helps you think, move, feel happy, or remember your favorite song.

It’s all part of how your brain talks to itself and to your body, using these secret messages every second of the day.