Library · Physiology
Synapse
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Synapses are the points where neurons connect and talk to each other.
Every synapse has two sides. The presynaptic side sits at the end of the axon, the long extension the neuron uses to send its signal. That is where the translation happens: the electrical signal, called an action potential, becomes a chemical signal, that is, the release of a neurotransmitter. Facing it is the postsynaptic side, whose membrane is covered with specialized receptors. Like a message that cannot jump the gap: it is written on paper, carried across, and someone on the other side knows how to read it.
The space between the two sides is called the synaptic cleft, and it is tiny. The neurotransmitter crosses it in microseconds and binds to specific receptors, not to just any receptor.
In brief
Synapses are the places where neurons connect and communicate with one another.
Each synapse has a presynaptic terminal, at the end of the axon, where the electrical signal is converted into a chemical signal, and a postsynaptic terminal carrying receptors.
Like a message that cannot jump the gap: it is written on paper, carried across, and someone on the other side knows how to read it.
The neurotransmitter crosses the synaptic cleft in microseconds and binds to specific receptors on the other side.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Synapse, StatPearlsPublished
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