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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.
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 .
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.
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.
Synaptogenesis is the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system.Although it occurs throughout a healthy person's lifespan, an explosion of synapse formation occurs during early brain development, known as exuberant synaptogenesis. [1]
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.
Protocadherins, a member of the cadherin family, mediate the adhesion of neurons to their target cells at synapses otherwise known as synaptic junctions. In order to for communication to occur between a neuron and its target cell, a wave of depolarization travels the length of the neuron and causes neurotransmitters to be released into the ...
There are two different kinds of synapses present within the human brain: chemical and electrical. Chemical synapses are by far the most prevalent and are the main player involved in excitatory synapses. Electrical synapses, the minority, allow direct, passive flow of electric current through special intercellular connections called gap ...