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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.

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...

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...

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...

Overview of Synapses

Overview of Synapses

A synapse is a specialized structure where two neurons connect, allowing them to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron. It is the point of communication between neurons. The term "synapse" is derived from the Greek word "synapsis," which means "conjunction." The entire process of neural communication revolves around the synapse. When activated, a neuron releases chemicals known as neurotransmitters into the synapse. These neurotransmitters cross the synapse and bind to...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Assembly and Characterization of Biomolecular Memristors Consisting of Ion Channel-doped Lipid Membranes

Assembly and Characterization of Biomolecular Memristors Consisting of Ion Channel-doped Lipid Membranes

Published on: March 9, 2019

Artificial Synapses Based on an Optical/Electrical Biomemristor.

Lu Wang¹, Shutao Wei¹, Jiachu Xie¹

¹Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Micronano Sensitive Devices and Systems, School of Electronic Engineering, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China.

Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)

|December 8, 2023

Summary

Researchers developed tunable biomemristors using egg albumen and graphene quantum dots. These devices mimic nine brain synaptic functions, paving the way for biomaterials in neuromorphic computing.

Keywords:

OR gate biological materials graphene quantum dots physical transient

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Published on: December 19, 2017

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Neuroscience
Electronics

Background:

Memristors are key to neuromorphic computing due to their artificial synapse capabilities.
Egg albumen (EA) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) offer novel material properties for electronic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

To fabricate electrically/optically tunable biomemristors using EA-GQD dielectric layers.
To investigate the synaptic functions mimicked by these biomemristors.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of Al/PMMA/EA-GQDs/PMMA/ITO biomemristors.
Utilizing UV light stimulation to trigger electron injection and electronic transmission pathways.
Testing nine distinct brain synaptic functions.

Main Results:

The EA-GQDs dielectric layer facilitated electronic transmission under UV light.
The fabricated biomemristor successfully emulated nine brain synaptic functions, including plasticity, learning, and associative memory.
Demonstrated excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC), paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), short-term potentiation (STP), and short-term depression (STD).
Showcased transition from short-term to long-term plasticity, spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), and spike-rate-dependent plasticity (SRDP).
Successfully simulated learning, forgetting, relearning, and Pavlov associative memory.

Conclusions:

Biomemristors fabricated with egg albumen and graphene quantum dots can effectively simulate complex synaptic functions.
This research highlights the potential of biomaterials in developing advanced neuromorphic computing systems.
The optically tunable nature of the device offers new possibilities for brain-inspired computing architectures.