Editing Neuron (section)

=== Nonelectrochemical signaling ===
Beyond electrical and chemical signaling, studies suggest neurons in healthy human brains can also communicate through:
* force generated by the enlargement of dendritic spines<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ucar |first1=Hasan |last2=Watanabe |first2=Satoshi |last3=Noguchi |first3=Jun |last4=Morimoto |first4=Yuichi |last5=Iino |first5=Yusuke |last6=Yagishita |first6=Sho |last7=Takahashi |first7=Noriko |last8=Kasai |first8=Haruo |title=Mechanical actions of dendritic-spine enlargement on presynaptic exocytosis |journal=Nature |date=December 2021 |volume=600 |issue=7890 |pages=686–689 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04125-7 |pmid=34819666 |bibcode=2021Natur.600..686U |s2cid=244648506 |language=en |issn=1476-4687}}<br />Lay summary:<br />{{cite news |title=Forceful synapses reveal mechanical interactions in the brain |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03516-0 |access-date=21 February 2022 |journal=Nature |date=24 November 2021 |language=en |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-03516-0}}</ref>
* the transfer of [[protein]]s – transneuronally transported proteins (TNTPs)<!--e.g. between [[Retinal ganglion cell|RGC]] and [[Excitatory synapse|excitatory]] [[lateral geniculate nucleus|LGN]] neurons--><ref>{{cite news |title=Researchers discover new type of cellular communication in the brain |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-cellular-brain.html |access-date=12 February 2022 |work=The Scripps Research Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schiapparelli |first1=Lucio M. |last2=Sharma |first2=Pranav |last3=He |first3=Hai-Yan |last4=Li |first4=Jianli |last5=Shah |first5=Sahil H. |last6=McClatchy |first6=Daniel B. |last7=Ma |first7=Yuanhui |last8=Liu |first8=Han-Hsuan |last9=Goldberg |first9=Jeffrey L. |last10=Yates |first10=John R. |last11=Cline |first11=Hollis T. |title=Proteomic screen reveals diverse protein transport between connected neurons in the visual system |journal=Cell Reports |date=25 January 2022 |volume=38 |issue=4 |page=110287 |doi=10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110287 |pmid=35081342 |pmc=8906846 |language=English |issn=2211-1247}}</ref>

They can also get modulated by input from the environment and [[hormone]]s released from other parts of the organism,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Levitan |first1=Irwin B. |last2=Kaczmarek |first2=Leonard K. |title=The Neuron |chapter=Electrical Signaling in Neurons |year=2015 |pages=41–62 |doi=10.1093/med/9780199773893.003.0003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-977389-3 }}</ref> which could be influenced more or less directly by neurons. This also applies to [[neurotrophin]]s such as [[BDNF]]. The [[gut microbiome]] is also connected with the brain.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O’Leary |first1=Olivia F. |last2=Ogbonnaya |first2=Ebere S. |last3=Felice |first3=Daniela |last4=Levone |first4=Brunno R. |last5=C. Conroy |first5=Lorraine |last6=Fitzgerald |first6=Patrick |last7=Bravo |first7=Javier A. |last8=Forsythe |first8=Paul |last9=Bienenstock |first9=John |last10=Dinan |first10=Timothy G. |last11=Cryan |first11=John F. |title=The vagus nerve modulates BDNF expression and neurogenesis in the hippocampus |journal=European Neuropsychopharmacology |date=1 February 2018 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=307–316 |doi=10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.12.004 |pmid=29426666 |s2cid=46819013 |language=en |issn=0924-977X|doi-access=free }}</ref>
Neurons also communicate with [[microglia]], the brain's main immune cells via specialized contact sites, called "somatic junctions". These connections enable microglia to constantly monitor and regulate neuronal functions, and exert neuroprotection when needed.<ref name="Science">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cserép C, Pósfai B, Lénárt N, Fekete R, László ZI, Lele Z |date=January 2020 |title=Microglia monitor and protect neuronal function through specialized somatic purinergic junctions |url= https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/76442/|journal=Science |volume=367 |issue=6477 |pages=528–537 |doi=10.1126/science.aax6752 |pmid=31831638|bibcode=2020Sci...367..528C |s2cid=209343260 }}</ref>