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Synaptic Signaling

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.

The Synapse

The Synapse

Neurons communicate with one another by passing on their electrical signals to other neurons. A synapse is the location where two neurons meet to exchange signals. At the synapse, the neuron that sends the signal is called the presynaptic cell, while the neuron that receives the message is called the postsynaptic cell. Note that most neurons can be both presynaptic and postsynaptic, as they both transmit and receive information.

Synaptic Signaling

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...

The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation

The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation

A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....

Chemical Synapses

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...

Integration of Synaptic Events

Integration of Synaptic Events

Synaptic integration mainly includes the summation of graded potentials. Graded potentials, regardless of their type, cause subtle alterations in membrane voltage, resulting in either depolarization or hyperpolarization. These incremental changes, when combined or summed, can propel the neuron toward its threshold. Consider, for example, a membrane experiencing a +15 mV shift, causing it to depolarize from -70 mV to -55 mV. In this scenario, graded potentials govern the membrane's ability to...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 1, 2026

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond

Published on: June 24, 2015

Synaptic computation.

L F Abbott¹, Wade G Regehr

¹Volen Center and Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110, USA. abbott@brandeis.edu

|October 16, 2004

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Synapses, not just neurons, actively process information through diverse plasticity. These changes in synaptic transmission enable neurons to send varied signals, supporting brain computations, learning, and memory.

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Last Updated: May 1, 2026

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond

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Published on: April 23, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Synaptic Plasticity

Background:

Neurons are traditionally viewed as brain's computational units.
Synapses were considered passive information transmitters.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the active role of synapses in information processing.
To highlight the significance of synaptic plasticity in neural function.

Main Methods:

Analysis of diverse synaptic plasticity mechanisms.
Examination of short-term and long-term synaptic changes.

Main Results:

Synaptic plasticity reveals synapses as active information processors.
Short-term plasticity supports neural computations.
Long-term plasticity forms the basis for learning and memory.

Conclusions:

Synapses play a crucial, active role in brain information processing.
A single neuron can transmit diverse signals via synaptic plasticity.
Understanding synaptic plasticity is key to understanding neural computation, learning, and memory.