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• Why does a multipolar neuron have lots of dendrites but only one axon?

• Multipolar neurons are the most common shape for neurons in your brain--what advantages do multipolar neurons have over unipolar or bipolar neurons?  Are there any disadvantages?

• How many synaptic connections does a single neuron usually make?  Take a guess, or do some outside research to answer this one!

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    The primary function of a neuron is to both transmit information and to process it.  The multipolar neuron is shaped so that it has many dendrites and only one axon. This allows for an efficient processing and integration of information from multiple presynaptic neurons.  These neurons have only one axon because it takes a lot of energy to send information to postsynaptic neurons. Many dendrites allow for multiple presynaptic axons to deliver information to one post synaptic neuron.  The unipolar neurons only have one process, a single axon from the cell body. They are only good seen as sensory neurons. Bipolar neurons have an axon and a dendrite and are also sensory neurons. Multipolar neurons are superior as they can collect more information and be used for both motor or association neurons, allowing for muscle movement or communication among the CNS.  There are no really big advantages and disadvantages as they both perform unique tasks that are needed. Each average neuron is connected to about 10,000 synaptic connections.