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Diagram of a chemical synaptic connection. In the nervous system, a synapse [1] is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending on the mechanism of signal transmission between neurons.
Without the need for receptors to recognize chemical messengers, signal transmission at electrical synapses is more rapid than that which occurs across chemical synapses, the predominant kind of junctions between neurons. Chemical transmission exhibits synaptic delay—recordings from squid synapses and neuromuscular junctions of the frog ...
Chemical synaptic transmission is the transfer of neurotransmitters or neuropeptides from a presynaptic axon to a postsynaptic dendrite. [3] Unlike an electrical synapse, the chemical synapses are separated by a space called the synaptic cleft , typically measured between 15 and 25 nm.
Amphetamine, for example, is an indirect agonist of postsynaptic dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin receptors in each their respective neurons; [45] [46] it produces both neurotransmitter release into the presynaptic neuron and subsequently the synaptic cleft and prevents their reuptake from the synaptic cleft by activating TAAR1, a ...
An electrical synapse is an electrically conductive link between two abutting neurons that is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic cells, known as a gap junction. At gap junctions, cells approach within about 3.5 nm of each other, rather than the 20 to 40 nm distance that separates cells at chemical synapses.
A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. [1] It allows the motor neuron to transmit a signal to the muscle fiber, causing muscle contraction. [2] Muscles require innervation to function—and even just to maintain muscle tone, avoiding atrophy.
Anatomy of a multipolar neuron. A neural circuit is a population of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out a specific function when activated. [1] Multiple neural circuits interconnect with one another to form large scale brain networks.
Synaptic vesicle components in the presynaptic neuron are initially trafficked to the synapse using members of the kinesin motor family. In C. elegans the major motor for synaptic vesicles is UNC-104. [11] There is also evidence that other proteins such as UNC-16/Sunday Driver regulate the use of motors for transport of synaptic vesicles. [12] 2.