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Related Concept Videos

The Synapse02:47

The Synapse

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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.
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Integration of Synaptic Events01:28

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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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Synaptic Signaling01:12

Synaptic Signaling

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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.
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Synaptic Signaling01:09

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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...
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Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

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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...
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Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

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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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Use of Pre-Assembled Plastic Microfluidic Chips for Compartmentalizing Primary Murine Neurons
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Transcellular Nanoalignment of Synaptic Function.

Thomas Biederer1, Pascal S Kaeser2, Thomas A Blanpied3

  • 1Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.

Neuron
|November 3, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This review explores the structure of brain synapses, focusing on how the presynaptic nerve terminal, synaptic cleft, and postsynaptic specialization align. Understanding this nanoscale architecture is key to synaptic information exchange and brain plasticity.

Keywords:
active zonenanocolumnpostsynaptic densitysynapsesynaptic cleft

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Synaptic Biology

Background:

  • Neurons communicate via synapses, comprising presynaptic terminals, synaptic clefts, and postsynaptic specializations.
  • Existing knowledge focuses on molecular machinery within each compartment, but inter-compartment integration is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the structural organization of synaptic compartments.
  • To discuss the nanoscale alignment of pre- and postsynaptic structures.
  • To propose how this architecture facilitates synaptic function and plasticity.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of synaptic organization and structural alignment.
  • Analysis of nanoscale architecture at the synapse.

Main Results:

  • Detailed description of presynaptic, cleft, and postsynaptic compartment organization.
  • Evidence for precise structural registration between pre- and postsynaptic elements at the nanometer scale.

Conclusions:

  • The specific architecture of synaptic compartments enables precise information transfer.
  • Modulation of this architecture is a potential mechanism for brain plasticity.