Excitatory Synapse

An excitatory synapse is a synapse in which an action potential in a presynaptic neuron increases the probability of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell. Neurons form networks through which nerve impulses travel, each neuron often making numerous connections with other cells. These electrical signals may be excitatory or inhibitory, and, if the total of excitatory influences exceeds that of the inhibitory influences, the neuron will “fire,” that is, it will generate a new action potential at its axon hillock, thus transmitting the information to yet another cell.

This phenomenon is known as an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP). It may occur via direct contact between cells (i.e., via gap junctions), as in an electrical synapse, but most commonly occurs via the vesicular release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic axon terminal into the synaptic cleft, as in a chemical synapse.

The excitatory neurotransmitters, the most common of which is glutamate, then migrate via diffusion to the dendritic spine of the postsynaptic neuron and bind a specific transmembrane receptor protein that triggers the depolarization of that cell. Depolarization, a deviation from a neuron’s resting membrane potential towards its threshold potential, increases the likelihood of an action potential and normally occurs with the influx of positively charged sodium (Na+) ions into the postsynaptic cell through ion channels activated by neurotransmitter binding.