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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...

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

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...

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.

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...

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...

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 5, 2025

Microtransplantation of Synaptic Membranes to Reactivate Human Synaptic Receptors for Functional Studies

Microtransplantation of Synaptic Membranes to Reactivate Human Synaptic Receptors for Functional Studies

Published on: July 20, 2022

Corrigendum: Editorial: Activated Synapses.

F Javier Rubio¹, Emmanuel Valjent², Bruce T Hope¹

¹Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, Neuronal Ensembles in Drug Addiction, NIDA Intramural Research Program, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States.

Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience

|July 11, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study corrects a previous article DOI. The updated information ensures accurate referencing for future scientific research and data retrieval.

Keywords:

cellular engrams drug of addiction long-term memory neuronal ensembles synaptic engrams

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Synaptic Plasticity

Context:

Correction of a previously published article DOI.
Ensuring accurate citation and data retrieval for scientific literature.

Purpose:

To provide the correct Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the article.

Summary:

The article DOI has been corrected to 10.3389/fnsyn.2022.875904.
This correction ensures proper attribution and access to the research.

Impact:

Facilitates accurate citation and referencing in neuroscience research.
Improves the reliability and discoverability of scientific publications.