Cerebral cortex nerve cells. Light micrograph of a section through neurones (nerve cells, black) in the cerebral cortex of a human brain. Branching processes (dendrites) receive impulses from other nerve cells and pass them to the cell body. Each cell body also has an axon through which it relays nerve impulses to the dendrites of other neurones. Neurones allow information to be received, interpreted and relayed around the body. The grey matter of the cerebral cortex forms the outer layer of the brain that is responsible for conscious thought, memory and language.