Synapse: A Tutorial Study Guide E-Book

Nicoladie Tam

• Herausgeber: Nicoladie Tam, Ph.D.
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 49

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

“Synapse” is a part of the college-level Principles of Biology course series and the Neuropsychopharmacology course series textbooks. It is a tutorial written in questions and answers format to describe the anatomy and physiology of the synapses and synaptic connections between neurons.

It is a study guide with in-depth explanations. Each section is a modular unit that is self-contained for easy reading. The principles and concepts are introduced systematically so students can learn and retain the materials intuitively.

Leseprobe

Synapse

A Tutorial Study Guide

Nicoladie Tam, Ph. D.

Copyright © 2015 by Nicoladie Tam, Ph.D.

ISBN 978-1-301-37412-0

All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations in critical review articles.

Authored by: Nicoladie Tam, Ph.D.

Published by: Nicoladie Tam, Ph.D.

First Published: August 20, 2013

Revision Date: June 12, 2015

eBook ISBN: 9781301374120

Book statistics: 10,800 words

Keywords: synapse, synaptic transmission, electrical synapse, chemical synapse, synaptic integration, neurotransmitter, drug, neuroscience, biology, study guide, tutorial

Produced in the United States of America

The printed version of this eBook is also available in PDF format in 40 pages.

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Preface

“Synapse” is a part of the college-level Principles of Biology course series and the Neuropsychopharmacology course series textbooks. It is a tutorial written in questions and answers format to describe the anatomy and physiology of the synapses and synaptic connections between neurons.

It is a study guide with in-depth explanations. Each section is a modular unit that is self-contained for easy reading. The principles and concepts are introduced systematically so students can learn and retain the materials intuitively.

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Table of Contents

Cover Page

Preface

Synapse

Synaptic Transmission

Electrical Synapse

Chemical Synapse

Synaptic Integration

Neurotransmitters

Drugs

About the Author

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Synapse

Objectives

Understand how neurons relay information from one neuron to another via synapses

Concepts to Learn

Understand how neurons use chemical synapses to excite or inhibit the post-synaptic neuron

Understand how neurons use synapses to integrate and process signals

Understand how neurons use excitatory or inhibitory synapse for decision-making

Q&A

What is synapse?

It is the connection between neurons.

The connections between neurons are often spaces rather than physical connection. For chemical synapse, it is the space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite (or soma) of another neuron. For electrical synapse, the connection is actually the electrical gap junction connecting the two neurons.

How is information relayed from one neuron to another?

The signal is relayed through the synapse.

The electrical signal (represented by action potential) is transmitted to the next neuron through the synapse. For electrical synapse, the transmission of electrical signal is conducted directly by the gap junction. For chemical synapse, the transmission of electrical signal represented by the action potential is converted into chemical signal (neurotransmitter release). The chemical signal is then converted back into electrical signal by depolarization or hyperpolarization.

Why is there any need for synapse?

Synapses are used to integrating signals from multiple neurons.

The firing of action potentials in a neuron is dependent on the synaptic inputs. That is, the synapse conveys the information of other neurons to the neuron to be processed.

How does a neuron integrate information from other neurons?

It integrates the information as either excitatory or inhibitory signals from these synapses connected from other neurons.

The integration process is adding or subtracting the contributions from other neurons through the synapses. Excitatory synapse will allow the pre-synaptic neuron’s signal to add up. Inhibitory synapse will allow the post-synaptic neuron’s signal to negate the other signals. Thus, the post-synaptic neuron integrates the contributions of all neurons it has synaptic connections to, either adding or subtracting their contributions.

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1.1.Synaptic Transmission

Objectives

Understand how neurons transmit signals

Concepts to Learn

Understand how neurons use chemical or electrical synapse for processing signals

Understand how neurons use action potentials to transmit signals

Understand how neurons integrate information from other neurons using excitatory and inhibitory synapses

Q&A

How do neurons transmit information?

They send electrical signal via action potentials along the axon until they reach the axon terminal, and then the signal is relayed to the next neuron by a chemical signal for chemical synapses.

This is why the axon is so long because it allows the neuron to send signals over long distances. The signal is encoded by the pattern of action potentials fired along the axon. Since all action potentials are exactly the same size, the information of the signal is encoded in the firing pattern (frequency of firing).

Once the action potential arrived at the axon terminal, what happens?

The action potential ends at the axon terminal where the synapse is located. The signal is relayed to the next neuron in many ways, either electrically (in an electrical synapse) or chemically (in a chemical synapse).

Since action potential can conduct very fast along the axon, the electrical signal stops at the end of the axon (i.e., the axon terminal). From there, the signal is conveyed to the next neuron in many different ways, depending on the type of synapse at the axon terminal.

What is a synapse?

A synapse is the junction between two neurons, often it is referred to as the connection between two neurons although there may not be any direct contact between them.