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Axon terminals (also called terminal boutons, synaptic boutons, end-feet, or presynaptic terminals) are distal terminations of the branches of an axon. An axon, also called a nerve fiber, is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell that conducts electrical impulses called action potentials away from the neuron's cell body to transmit those ...
The synaptic cleft—also called synaptic gap—is a gap between the pre- and postsynaptic cells that is about 20 nm (0.02 μ) wide. [12] The small volume of the cleft allows neurotransmitter concentration to be raised and lowered rapidly.
The function of the axon is to transmit information to different neurons, muscles, and glands. In certain sensory neurons ( pseudounipolar neurons ), such as those for touch and warmth, the axons are called afferent nerve fibers and the electrical impulse travels along these from the periphery to the cell body and from the cell body to the ...
These proteins do not share a characteristic that would make them identifiable as synaptic vesicle proteins, and little is known about how these proteins are specifically deposited into synaptic vesicles. Many but not all of the known synaptic vesicle proteins interact with non-vesicular proteins and are linked to specific functions. [4]
The synapse is the primary unit of information transfer in the nervous system, and correct synaptic contact creation during development is essential for normal brain function. In addition, several mutations have been connected to neurodevelopmental disorders, and that compromised function at different synapse locations is a hallmark of ...
In general, action potentials that reach the synaptic knobs cause a neurotransmitter to be released into the synaptic cleft. [z] Neurotransmitters are small molecules that may open ion channels in the postsynaptic cell; most axons have the same neurotransmitter at all of their termini.
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About once every second in a resting junction randomly one of the synaptic vesicles fuses with the presynaptic neuron's cell membrane in a process mediated by SNARE proteins. Fusion results in the emptying of the vesicle's contents of 7000–10,000 acetylcholine molecules into the synaptic cleft, a process known as exocytosis. [6]