Nerve cells. Micrograph of nerve cells, known as neurons. Nerve cells occur in the brain, spinal cord, and in ganglia. Each nerve cell has a large cell body with several long processes extending from it. The processes usually consist of one thicker axon and several thinner branched dendrites. The dendrites collect information in the form of nerve impulses from other nerve cells and pass it to the cell body. This information is interpreted by the cell body, and then passed on along the axon. In this way neurons allow information to be rapidly received, interpreted, and relayed around the body.