What happens at the synapse between two neurons?

Contents • 1 What Happens at the Synapse Between Two Neurons? • 1.1 The Complex Process of Neurotransmission • 1.2 How Neurotransmitters are Released • 1.3 Types of Neurotransmitters • 1.4 Long-Term Potentiation • 1.4.1 The Importance of Neurotransmission What Happens at the Synapse Between Two Neurons? The Complex Process of Neurotransmission Neurotransmission is the process of sending and receiving information between two neurons in the nervous system. This process is essential for the brain to function properly, and it all starts at the synapse. The synapse is a gap between two neurons where neurotransmitters are released. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry information from one neuron to the other, and they play an important role in the communication between neurons. How Neurotransmitters are Released When a neuron fires an action potential, it triggers a cascade of events that leads to the release of neurotransmitters. This process begins when voltage-gated channels open, allowing sodium ions to rush into the neuron. This influx of sodium ions causes the neuron to depolarize, triggering the release of neurotransmitters from vesicles inside the neuron. The neurotransmitters then travel across the synapse and bind to receptors on the post-synaptic neuron, which triggers a response. Types of Neurotransmitters There are many different types of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Each of these neurotransmitters has a diffe...

The junction between two neurons is called synapse. When electrical impulse reaches the axonal end of a neuron, it sets off the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse. These neurotransmitters enter the dendrite of another neuron to set off electrical signal in that neuron. This is how electrical impulse travels from one neuron to another.

When we're kids, our brains are amazing at learning. We absorb information from the outside world with ease, and we can adapt to anything. But as we age, our brains become a little more fixed. Our brain circuits become a little less flexible. You may have heard of a concept called neuroplasticity, our brain's ability to change or rewire itself. This is of course central to learning and memory, but it's also important for understanding a surprisingly wide array of medical conditions, including things like epilepsy, depression, even Alzheimer's disease. Today's guest, So I was excited to talk to Shatz about our brain's capacity for change, and I started off by asking about this sort of simple question, why exactly do we have this learning superpower as kids to do things like pick up languages and why does it go away? Shatz is Sapp Family Provostial Professor of Biology and of Neurobiology, the Catherine Holman Johnson director of Stanford Bio-X, and a member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford. Learn More • • • • • Episode Credits This episode was produced by producer Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Episode Transcript Nicholas Weiler: This is From Our Neurons to Yours, a podcast from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. On this show, we crisscross scientific disciplines to bring you to the frontiers of brain science. I'm your host, Nicholas Weiler. Here's t...

• • • For the nervous system to function, neurons must be able to communicate with each other, and they do this through structures called synapses. At the synapse, the terminal of a presynaptic cell comes into close contact with the cell membrane of a postsynaptic neuron. Figure 8.1. The terminal of a presynaptic neuron comes into close contact with a postsynaptic cell at the synapse. ‘Synapse’ by Synapse Types There are two types of synapses: electrical and chemical. Electrical Electrical synapses outnumber chemical synapses in the developing nervous system Electrical synapses are a physical connection between two neurons. Cell membrane proteins called connexons form gap junctions between the neurons. The gap junctions form pores that allow ions to flow between neurons, so as an action potential propagates in the presynaptic neuron, the influx of sodium can move directly into the postsynaptic neuron and depolarize the cell. The response in the postsynaptic cell is almost immediate, with little to no delay between signaling in the pre- and postsynaptic neurons. Electrical synapses play an important role in the development of the nervous system but are also present throughout the developed nervous system, although in much smaller numbers that chemical synapses. Animation 8.1. Membrane-bound proteins called connexons form gap junctions between presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons. This allows for direct exchange of ions between neurons. An action potential in the presynaptic...

Synapses Where two neurons meet there is a small gap called a synapse . An electrical impulse cannot directly cross the gap so a different mechanism has to be used. • An electrical nerve impulse travels along the first axon. • When the nerve impulse reaches the dendrites at the end of the axon, chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are released. • These chemicals diffuse across the synapse (the gap between the two neurons). The chemicals bind with receptor molecules on the membrane of the second neuron. • The receptor molecules on the second neuron can only bind to the specific neurotransmitters released from the first neuron. • The binding of neurotransmitter to the receptors stimulates the second neuron to transmit an electrical impulse along its axon . The signal therefore has been carried from one neuron to the next.

Your ability to perceive your surroundings – to see, hear, and smell what’s around you – depends on your nervous system. So does your ability to recognize where you are and to remember if you’ve been there before. In fact, your very capacity to wonder how you know where you are depends on your nervous system! If your perceptions indicate danger (“Oh no, the house is on fire!”), your ability to act on that information also depends on your nervous system. In addition to letting you consciously process the threat, your nervous system triggers involuntary responses, like an increase in heart rate and blood flow to your muscles, intended to help you cope with danger. All of these processes depend on the interconnected cells that make up your nervous system. Like the heart, lungs, and stomach, the nervous system is made up of specialized cells. These include nerve cells (or neurons) and glial cells (or glia). Neurons are the basic functional units of the nervous system, and they generate electrical signals called action potentials, which allow them to quickly transmit information over long distances. Glia are also essential to nervous system function, but they work mostly by supporting the neurons. The cell bodies of some PNS neurons, such as the motor neurons that control skeletal muscle (the type of muscle found in your arm or leg), are located in the CNS. These motor neurons have long extensions (axons) that run from the CNS all the way to the muscles they connect with (inner...

When we're kids, our brains are amazing at learning. We absorb information from the outside world with ease, and we can adapt to anything. But as we age, our brains become a little more fixed. Our brain circuits become a little less flexible. You may have heard of a concept called neuroplasticity, our brain's ability to change or rewire itself. This is of course central to learning and memory, but it's also important for understanding a surprisingly wide array of medical conditions, including things like epilepsy, depression, even Alzheimer's disease. Today's guest, So I was excited to talk to Shatz about our brain's capacity for change, and I started off by asking about this sort of simple question, why exactly do we have this learning superpower as kids to do things like pick up languages and why does it go away? Shatz is Sapp Family Provostial Professor of Biology and of Neurobiology, the Catherine Holman Johnson director of Stanford Bio-X, and a member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford. Learn More • • • • • Episode Credits This episode was produced by producer Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Art by Aimee Garza. Episode Transcript Nicholas Weiler: This is From Our Neurons to Yours, a podcast from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. On this show, we crisscross scientific disciplines to bring you to the frontiers of brain science. I'm your host, Nicholas Weiler. Here's t...

Contents • 1 What Happens at the Synapse Between Two Neurons? • 1.1 The Complex Process of Neurotransmission • 1.2 How Neurotransmitters are Released • 1.3 Types of Neurotransmitters • 1.4 Long-Term Potentiation • 1.4.1 The Importance of Neurotransmission What Happens at the Synapse Between Two Neurons? The Complex Process of Neurotransmission Neurotransmission is the process of sending and receiving information between two neurons in the nervous system. This process is essential for the brain to function properly, and it all starts at the synapse. The synapse is a gap between two neurons where neurotransmitters are released. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry information from one neuron to the other, and they play an important role in the communication between neurons. How Neurotransmitters are Released When a neuron fires an action potential, it triggers a cascade of events that leads to the release of neurotransmitters. This process begins when voltage-gated channels open, allowing sodium ions to rush into the neuron. This influx of sodium ions causes the neuron to depolarize, triggering the release of neurotransmitters from vesicles inside the neuron. The neurotransmitters then travel across the synapse and bind to receptors on the post-synaptic neuron, which triggers a response. Types of Neurotransmitters There are many different types of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Each of these neurotransmitters has a diffe...

Your ability to perceive your surroundings – to see, hear, and smell what’s around you – depends on your nervous system. So does your ability to recognize where you are and to remember if you’ve been there before. In fact, your very capacity to wonder how you know where you are depends on your nervous system! If your perceptions indicate danger (“Oh no, the house is on fire!”), your ability to act on that information also depends on your nervous system. In addition to letting you consciously process the threat, your nervous system triggers involuntary responses, like an increase in heart rate and blood flow to your muscles, intended to help you cope with danger. All of these processes depend on the interconnected cells that make up your nervous system. Like the heart, lungs, and stomach, the nervous system is made up of specialized cells. These include nerve cells (or neurons) and glial cells (or glia). Neurons are the basic functional units of the nervous system, and they generate electrical signals called action potentials, which allow them to quickly transmit information over long distances. Glia are also essential to nervous system function, but they work mostly by supporting the neurons. The cell bodies of some PNS neurons, such as the motor neurons that control skeletal muscle (the type of muscle found in your arm or leg), are located in the CNS. These motor neurons have long extensions (axons) that run from the CNS all the way to the muscles they connect with (inner...

The junction between two neurons is called synapse. When electrical impulse reaches the axonal end of a neuron, it sets off the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse. These neurotransmitters enter the dendrite of another neuron to set off electrical signal in that neuron. This is how electrical impulse travels from one neuron to another.