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Postsynaptic Potential (PSP)

Postsynaptic Potential (PSP)

Postsynaptic potential (PSP) refers to a change in the electrical potential of a neuron when neurotransmitters released by presynaptic neurons bind to postsynaptic receptors. This potential can either be excitatory, leading to depolarization and ultimately action potential generation, or inhibitory, leading to hyperpolarization and suppression of the postsynaptic neuron.
There are two types of receptors: ionotropic and metabotropic.
The ionotropic receptor is the membrane protein that has an...

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...

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...

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration

Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
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Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism

Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism

Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play a vital role in intercellular communication and functions of the nervous system. They allow the influx of ions across the membrane once the neurotransmitter binds, allowing the subsequent transmission of electrical excitation across the neurons. Other ligand-gated ion channels, like the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, permit anions like chloride into the cells on the binding of the GABA molecule. Their entry into the cell...

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

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Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Acute Dissociation of Lamprey Reticulospinal Axons to Enable Recording from the Release Face Membrane of Individual Functional Presynaptic Terminals

Acute Dissociation of Lamprey Reticulospinal Axons to Enable Recording from the Release Face Membrane of Individual Functional Presynaptic Terminals

Published on: October 1, 2014

Control of the postsynaptic membrane viscosity.

Marianne Renner¹, Daniel Choquet, Antoine Triller

¹Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Biologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, 75005 Paris, France.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|March 6, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The postsynaptic membrane

More Related Videos

Physiological Recordings of High and Low Output NMJs on the Crayfish Leg Extensor Muscle

Physiological Recordings of High and Low Output NMJs on the Crayfish Leg Extensor Muscle

Published on: November 17, 2010

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Acute Dissociation of Lamprey Reticulospinal Axons to Enable Recording from the Release Face Membrane of Individual Functional Presynaptic Terminals

Acute Dissociation of Lamprey Reticulospinal Axons to Enable Recording from the Release Face Membrane of Individual Functional Presynaptic Terminals

Published on: October 1, 2014

Physiological Recordings of High and Low Output NMJs on the Crayfish Leg Extensor Muscle

Physiological Recordings of High and Low Output NMJs on the Crayfish Leg Extensor Muscle

Published on: November 17, 2010

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cell Biology
Biophysics

Background:

The postsynaptic membrane (PSM) viscosity regulates synaptic protein flux.
Understanding PSM physical properties is crucial for synaptic function.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the physical properties of the postsynaptic membrane.
To determine how membrane viscosity and obstacles affect protein diffusion.

Main Methods:

Studied lateral diffusion of GPI-anchored proteins and cholera toxin on the plasma membrane.
Utilized actin depolymerization and cholesterol depletion to perturb the membrane.

Main Results:

Protein mobility was reduced at synapses, particularly inhibitory ones, indicating higher viscosity and obstacles.
Actin depolymerization increased mobility, showing dependence on actin cytoskeleton integrity.
Cholesterol depletion enhanced diffusion of slow molecules, suggesting lipid-raft properties.

Conclusions:

PSM viscosity is regulated by lipid composition and actin-dependent protein compaction.
These factors control molecular flow into and out of synapses.