Chemical Vs Electrical Synapses
- There are two different kinds of synapses present within the human brain: chemical and electrical. Chemical synapses are by far the most prevalent and are the main player involved in excitatory synapses. Electrical synapses, the minority, allow direct, passive flow of electrical current through special intercellular connections called gap junctions. These gap junctions allow for virtually instantaneous transmission of electrical signals through direct passive flow of ions between neurons (transmission can be bidirectional). The main goal of electrical synapses is to synchronize electrical activity among populations of neurons. The first electrical synapse was discovered in a crayfish nervous system.
- Chemical synaptic transmission is the transfer of neurotransmitters or neuropeptides from a presynaptic axon to a postsynaptic axon. Unlike an electrical synapse, the chemical synapses are separated by a space called the synaptic cleft, typically measured between 15 and 25 nm. Transmission of an excitatory signal involves several steps outlined below.
Read more about this topic: Excitatory Synapse
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