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Neurotransmission (Latin: transmissio "passage, crossing" from transmittere "send, let through") is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron), and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron (the postsynaptic neuron) a ...
The distinctive structure of nerve cells allows action potentials to travel directionally (from dendrites to cell body down the axon), and for these signals to then be received and carried on by post-synaptic neurons or received by effector cells. Nerve cells have long been used as models for cellular polarization, and of particular interest ...
The process begins with a wave of electrochemical excitation called an action potential traveling along the membrane of the presynaptic cell, until it reaches the synapse. The electrical depolarization of the membrane at the synapse causes channels to open that are permeable to calcium ions.
A neuron, neurone, [1] or nerve cell is an excitable cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network in the nervous system. They are located in the brain and spinal cord and help to receive and conduct impulses.
Neurons expressing certain types of neurotransmitters sometimes form distinct systems, where activation of the system affects large volumes of the brain, called volume transmission. Major neurotransmitter systems include the noradrenaline (norepinephrine) system, the dopamine system, the serotonin system, and the cholinergic system, among others.
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 ...
Vesicles in the nerve terminal are grouped into three pools: the readily releasable pool, the recycling pool, and the reserve pool. [7] These pools are distinguished by their function and position in the nerve terminal. The readily releasable pool are docked to the cell membrane, making these the first group of vesicles to be released on ...
Brain cells make up the functional tissue of the brain. The rest of the brain tissue is the structural stroma that includes connective tissue such as the meninges , blood vessels , and ducts. The two main types of cells in the brain are neurons , also known as nerve cells, and glial cells , also known as neuroglia. [ 1 ]