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Synapses Histology

The document discusses different types of synapses including chemical, electrical, and mixed synapses. Chemical synapses transmit signals through the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft between neurons. Electrical synapses directly connect neurons through gap junctions that allow ions and molecules to pass between cells. Mixed synapses have properties of both chemical and electrical transmission by containing gap junctions at neurotransmitter releasing terminals.

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Satwant Singh
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65 views

Synapses Histology

The document discusses different types of synapses including chemical, electrical, and mixed synapses. Chemical synapses transmit signals through the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft between neurons. Electrical synapses directly connect neurons through gap junctions that allow ions and molecules to pass between cells. Mixed synapses have properties of both chemical and electrical transmission by containing gap junctions at neurotransmitter releasing terminals.

Uploaded by

Satwant Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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KAZAKH NATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

NAME:URMIL
GROUP:GM22-64-1a

SYNAPSES
A synapse is a junction between two neurons that allows
communication between them.
Neurons are specialised cells that are electrically excitable and
communicate with one another through chemical messengers or
electrical signals. These signals are generated by external stimuli
such as touch, burning sensation, etc. These signals help to protect
our body and react as fast as possible for survival.

A synapse is a junction that permits the transmission of signals or


information between either a neuron and another neuron or
between a neuron and a muscle cell. The synapse between a
neuron and another neuron is called a neuronal junction and the
one between a neuron and a muscle is called the neuromuscular
junction. It is not necessary that neurons can form synapses with
only another neuron or a muscle cell. It can form a synapse with
any different target cell for communication and that target cell is
known as an effector cell.

A synapse image can be described as a knoblike structure


emerging from the plasma membrane of a presynaptic neuron fitting
into a curve shape formed by the plasma membrane of a
postsynaptic neuron or an effector cell with a small gap in between.
This gap known as the synaptic cleft is approximately 0.2 microns
wide. Both the presynaptic and postsynaptic sites contain large
assemblies of the molecular machinery that keep the two
membranes together. These molecules are also in some cases
known as the synaptic adhesion molecules (SAMs) and carry out
the signalling process. The synapse image is clearly outlined in the
diagram below.

Types of Synapse

There are two types of synapses: chemical and electrical.

Chemical synapses:
The space between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons is
substantially greater at chemical synapses than at electrical
synapses and is called the synaptic cleft. However, the key feature
of all chemical synapses is the presence of small,
membrane-bounded organelles called synaptic vesicles within the
presynaptic terminal. These spherical organelles are filled with one
or more neurotransmitters, the chemical signals secreted from the
presynaptic neuron, and it is these chemical agents acting as
messengers between the communicating neurons that gives this
type of synapse its name. There are many kinds of
neurotransmitters (see Chapter 6), the best studied example being
acetylcholine, the transmitter employed at peripheral neuromuscular
synapses, in autonomic ganglia, and at some central synapses.
Transmission at chemical synapses is based on the elaborate
sequence of events depicted in Figure. The process is initiated
when an action potential invades the terminal of the presynaptic
neuron. The change in membrane potential caused by the arrival of
the action potential leads to the opening of voltage-gated calcium
channels in the presynaptic membrane. Because of the steep
concentration gradient of Ca2+ across the presynaptic membrane
,the opening of these channels causes a rapid influx of Ca2+ into
the presynaptic terminal, with the result that the Ca2+ concentration
of the cytoplasm in the terminal transiently rises to a much higher
value. Elevation of the presynaptic Ca2+ concentration, in turn,
allows synaptic vesicles to fuse with the plasma membrane of the
presynaptic neuron. The Ca2+-dependent fusion of synaptic
vesicles with the terminal membrane causes their contents, most
importantly neurotransmitters, to be released into the synaptic cleft.
Following exocytosis, transmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft
and bind to specific receptors on the membrane of the postsynaptic
neuron. The binding of neurotransmitters to the receptors causes
channels in the postsynaptic membrane to open (or sometimes to
close), thus changing the ability of ions to flow into (or out of) the
postsynaptic cells. The resulting neurotransmitter-induced current
flow alters the conductance and usually the membrane potential of
the postsynaptic neuron, increasing or decreasing the probability
that the neuron will fire an action potential. In this way, information
is transmitted from one neuron to another.

Electrical synapses:
Although they are a distinct minority, electrical synapses are found
in all nervous systems, including the human brain.The membranes
of the two communicating neurons come extremely close at the
synapse and are actually linked together by an intracellular
specialization called a gap junction. Gap junctions contain precisely
aligned, paired channels in the membrane of the pre- and
postsynaptic neurons, such that each channel pair forms a pore .
The pore of a gap junction channel is much larger than the pores of
the voltage-gated ion channels described in the previous chapter.
As a result, a variety of substances can simply diffuse between the
cytoplasm of the pre- and postsynaptic neurons. In addition to ions,
substances that diffuse through gap junction pores include
molecules with molecular weights as great as several hundred
daltons. This permits ATP and other important intracellular
metabolites, such as second messengers, to be transferred
between neurons.

Electrical synapses thus work by allowing ionic current to flow


passively through the gap junction pores from one neuron to
another. The usual source of this current is the potential difference
generated locally by the action potential. The “upstream” neuron,
which is the source of current, is called the presynaptic element,
and the “downstream” neuron into which this current flows is termed
postsynaptic. This arrangement has a number of interesting
consequences. One is that transmission can be bidirectional; that
is, current can flow in either direction across the gap junction,
depending on which member of the coupled pair is invaded by an
action potential (although some types of gap junctions have special
features that render their transmission unidirectional). Another
important feature of the electrical synapse is that transmission is
extraordinarily fast: Because passive current flow across the gap
junction is virtually instantaneous, communication can occur without
the delay that is characteristic of chemical synapses.

Mixed synapse:

● Gap junctions containing connexin36 occur at nerve terminals


that form mixed synapses in the mammalian CNS.
● Mixed synapses are abundant in various brainstem and spinal
cord regions of rats and mice.
● So far, mixed synapses have been discovered only at
excitatory / glutamatergic axon terminals.
● The possibility of electrical transmission at mixed synapses in
mammalian brain warrents comprehensive
electrophysiological investigation.

In addition, gap junctions at axon terminals synapsing on dendrites


and stomata allow for “mixed” (dual chemical + electrical) synaptic
transmission. “Dual transmission” was first documented in the
autonomic nervous system of birds, followed by its detection in the
central nervous systems of fish, amphibia, and reptiles.
Subsequently, mixed synapses have been detected in several
locations in the mammalian CNS, where their properties and
functional roles remain undetermined. Here, we review available
evidence for the presence, complex structural composition, and
emerging functional properties of mixed synapses in the
mammalian CNS.

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