Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Electrical Synapses

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...

Neuronal Communication

Neuronal Communication

Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, communicate through complex electrochemical signals that underpin all cognitive and bodily functions. This communication is primarily facilitated by a process involving the generation and propagation of an action potential along the axon of the neuron. When the internal electrical charge of a neuron surpasses a certain threshold, an action potential is triggered. This rapid change in voltage travels swiftly along the axon to the...

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...

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.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Screening and Characteristics of Cadmium-Tolerant Microorganisms in Soil Remediation.

Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology·2025

Same author

1-benzyl-6-nitro-4-phenyl-4-(methoxycarbonyl)-2(1H)-pyridinone, a novel pirfenidone derivative, alleviate hepatic fibrosis through T cells.

Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie·2025

Same author

Effects of Longitudinal External Magnetic Field on Metal Transfer Behavior and Spatter Formation in CO<sub>2</sub> Arc Welding.

Materials (Basel, Switzerland)·2025

Same author

Dietary Effects of Different Proportions of Fermented Straw as a Corn Replacement on the Growth Performance and Intestinal Health of Finishing Pigs.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2025

Same author

Research Progress on the Modification of B and Al High-Energy Fuels for Powder Fuel Ramjet Applications.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2025

Same author

An interpretable machine learning model assists in predicting induction chemotherapy response and survival for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma using MRI: a multicenter study.

European radiology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 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

Adaptive neural information processing with dynamical electrical synapses.

Lei Xiao¹, Dan-Ke Zhang, Yuan-Qing Li

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai, China.

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

|April 19, 2013

Summary

Dynamical electrical synapses efficiently modulate neural activity. They enable a transition to a more energy-efficient neural information coding strategy during luminance adaptation.

Keywords:

adaptation dynamical encoding electrical synapses information processing short-term plasticity

More Related Videos

Dynamic Clamp Methods to Investigate Impaired Neuronal Excitability Associated with Autism

Dynamic Clamp Methods to Investigate Impaired Neuronal Excitability Associated with Autism

Published on: October 17, 2025

Closed-loop Neuro-robotic Experiments to Test Computational Properties of Neuronal Networks

Closed-loop Neuro-robotic Experiments to Test Computational Properties of Neuronal Networks

Published on: March 2, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 12, 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

Dynamic Clamp Methods to Investigate Impaired Neuronal Excitability Associated with Autism

Dynamic Clamp Methods to Investigate Impaired Neuronal Excitability Associated with Autism

Published on: October 17, 2025

Closed-loop Neuro-robotic Experiments to Test Computational Properties of Neuronal Networks

Closed-loop Neuro-robotic Experiments to Test Computational Properties of Neuronal Networks

Published on: March 2, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Systems Neuroscience

Background:

Electrical synapses offer efficient modulation of neuronal activity compared to chemical synapses.
Understanding the computational role of electrical synapses in neural information processing is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the computational role of dynamical electrical synapses in neural information processing.
To propose and validate a phenomenological model for short-term facilitation of electrical synapses.

Main Methods:

Developed a phenomenological model for electrical synapse short-term facilitation based on experimental data.
Analyzed neuronal firing rates and correlations during luminance adaptation.
Investigated information encoding strategies (firing rate vs. correlated activity).

Main Results:

The proposed model successfully reproduces increased neuronal correlation with decreased firing rates during luminance adaptation.
Dynamical electrical synapses facilitate a shift in information coding from firing rates to correlated activity.
This transition allows for more economical information encoding.

Conclusions:

Dynamical electrical synapses play a significant role in neural information processing.
Electrical synapses enable a more efficient coding strategy by utilizing neuronal correlations.
The findings suggest potential benefits for energy efficiency in neural systems.