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A similar process occurs in retrograde neurotransmission, where the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron release retrograde neurotransmitters (e.g., endocannabinoids; synthesized in response to a rise in intracellular calcium levels) that signal through receptors that are located on the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron, mainly at ...
The release of a neurotransmitter is triggered by the arrival of a nerve impulse (or action potential) and occurs through an unusually rapid process of cellular secretion . Within the presynaptic nerve terminal, vesicles containing neurotransmitter are localized near the synaptic membrane.
These neurotransmitters are synthesized in the presynaptic cell and housed in vesicles until released. Once neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft and a signal is relayed, re-uptake begins which is the process of transport proteins clearing out the neurotransmitters from the synapse and recycling them in order to allow for a new ...
In addition, a synapse serves as a junction where both the transmission and processing of information occur, making it a vital means of communication between neurons. [ 10 ] At the synapse, the plasma membrane of the signal-passing neuron (the presynaptic neuron) comes into close apposition with the membrane of the target ( postsynaptic ) cell.
In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse. The release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel . Vesicles are essential for propagating nerve impulses between neurons and are constantly recreated by the cell .
After being released into the synaptic cleft, neurotransmitters diffuse across the synapse where they are able to interact with receptors on the target cell. The effect of the neurotransmitter is dependent on the identity of the target cell's receptors present at the synapse.
Illustration of the major elements in chemical synaptic transmission. An electrochemical wave called an action potential travels along the axon of a neuron.When the wave reaches a synapse, it provokes release of a puff of neurotransmitter molecules, which bind to chemical receptor molecules located in the membrane of another neuron, on the opposite side of the synapse.
[2] [3] [4] When receptors in the postsynaptic membrane bind this neurotransmitter and open ion channels, information is transmitted between neurons (A) and neurons (B). [5] To generate an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron, many excitatory synapses must be active at the same time. [1]