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Related Concept Videos

Chemical Synapses01:26

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 Synapses01:26

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...
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters01:29

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical synapse. The released neurotransmitter can be excitatory or inhibitory. The critical criteria commonly used to determine whether a molecule is a neurotransmitter at a chemical synapse are the molecule's presence in the presynaptic neuron. Second, its release is in response to strong presynaptic depolarization. And lastly, the presence of specific...
Synaptic Signaling01:09

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...
Synaptic Signaling01:12

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.
Electrical Synapses01:28

Electrical Synapses

Electrical synapses found in all nervous systems play important and unique roles. In these synapses, the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes are very close together (3.5 nm) and are actually physically connected by channel proteins forming gap junctions.
Gap junctions allow the current to pass directly from one cell to the next. In contrast, in the chemical synapse, the neurotransmitters carry the information through the synaptic cleft from one neuron to the next. They consist of two...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse
09:37

Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse

Published on: December 26, 2019

Inhibitory and regulatory immune synapses.

Philipp Eissmann1, Daniel M Davis

  • 1Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.

Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology
|December 5, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Natural killer cell synapses regulate immune responses by selectively recruiting proteins for inhibition or activating them. Inhibitory synapses maintain cell migration, preventing full activation and promoting self-tolerance.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Cell contact-dependent processes are crucial for immune responses and self-tolerance.
  • Immune synapses mediate cell activation, such as cytotoxicity, and regulatory functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the supramolecular dynamics of inhibitory and activating immune synapses.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms underlying natural killer cell synapse function.

Main Methods:

  • Focus on natural killer cells as a model system.
  • Analysis of supramolecular dynamics within immune synapses.

Main Results:

  • Inhibitory or regulatory responses involve selective recruitment of signaling proteins to the synapse.
  • Exclusion of membrane-proximal proteins essential for activation is observed in inhibitory synapses.

More Related Videos

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
07:51

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors

Published on: November 14, 2014

Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy
10:00

Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy

Published on: March 24, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse
09:37

Imaging the Human Immunological Synapse

Published on: December 26, 2019

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
07:51

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors

Published on: November 14, 2014

Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy
10:00

Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy

Published on: March 24, 2014

  • Inhibitory synapses promote a migratory cell configuration, preventing complete activation.

    • Conclusions:

    • Selective protein recruitment and exclusion govern immune synapse outcomes.
    • Kinetic-proofreading may determine intercellular conjugation outcomes, balancing activation and inhibition.