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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.
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.
This causes the synapse to be a long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD). The former is the strengthening of the synapse between two neurons if the postsynaptic spike temporally follows immediately after the presynaptic spike. Latter is the case if it is reverse, i.e., the presynaptic spike occurs after the postsynaptic spike.
The events of the synaptic vesicle cycle can be divided into a few key steps: [10] 1. Trafficking to the synapse. 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]
An electrical synapse, or gap junction, is a mechanical and electrically conductive synapse, a functional junction between two neighboring neurons. The synapse is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons known as a gap junction .
Neurons form complex biological neural networks through which nerve impulses (action potentials) travel. Neurons do not touch each other (except in the case of an electrical synapse through a gap junction); instead, neurons interact at close contact points called synapses. A neuron transports its information by way of an action potential.
[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]
In a model gated synapse, the gate is either open or closed by default. The gatekeeper neuron, therefore, serves as an external switch to the gate at the synapse of two other neurons. One of these neurons provides the input signal and the other provides the output signal.