Neural pathways were the channels within a nervous system for neural signals or neurons to be sent between the brain and other parts of a humanoid. Damage to one's neural pathway could lead to severe neurological damage and even death. An illegal procedure called accelerated critical neural pathway formation affected neural pathways and generally resulted in increased intelligence, but with high likelihood of dramatic and often unpredictable side effects on the personality of the patient. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")