Share 4K. Related Stories. Recent Stories. Campus Life. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form. News Hub Archives. Contact: Memory may also involve the creation of new synapses.
In fact, recent research indicates that it is the synapses, rather than the neurons themselves, that may be the first to show the effects of these conditions. Media contact: Dee Dee Grays , Synapses: Crucial connections Synapses connect one neuron to another and are thus responsible for every thought, memory or movement—but how do they work?
Facebook 0 Tweet 0. Author Details. Christina Sumners VR Publisher. Excitation leads to the firing of an action potential while inhibition prevents the propagation of a signal. In electrical synapses, two neurons are connected by specialized channels known as gap junctions. Electrical synapses allow electrical signals to travel quickly from the presynaptic cell to the postsynaptic cell, rapidly speeding up the transfer of signals. The special protein channels that connect the two cells make it possible for the positive current from the presynaptic neuron to flow directly into the postsynaptic cell.
The gap between electrical synapses is much smaller than that of a chemical synapse about 3. Electrical synapses transfer signals much faster than chemical synapses. While the speed of transmission in chemical synapses can take up to several milliseconds, the transmission at electrical synapses is nearly instantaneous.
While electrical synapses have the advantage of speed, the strength of a signal diminishes as it travels from one cell to the next. Because of this loss of signal strength, it requires a very large presynaptic neuron to influence much smaller postsynaptic neurons. Chemical synapses may be slower, but they can transmit a message without any loss in signal strength.
Very small presynaptic neurons are also able to influence even very large postsynaptic cells. Where chemical synapses can be excitatory or inhibitory, electrical synapses are excitatory only.
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Are there different kinds of synapses? Illustrations by Elizabeth A. Weaver II There is also a special type of electrical synapse called a gap junction.
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