SYNAPSE AND
SYNAPTIC
TRANSMISSION
Dr. Subhadeep Das
Chemical Synapses
Synapse- Junction
1. Pre synaptic neuron
2. Post synaptic neuron
3. Synaptic cleft
4. Neurotransmitter
Types of synapses
Neuron to neuron
Neuron to muscle- Neuromuscular junction
Neuron to neuron synapse
A neuron-to-neuron synapse involves a junction between an axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron and the
dendrites or cell body of a postsynaptic neuron.
The axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron, which
conducts its action potentials toward the synapse, ends in
a slight swelling, the synaptic knob.
Structure and function of single synapse (Neuron-neuron synapse)
1. Action potential reaches axon terminal of presynaptic neuron.
2. Ca2+ enters synaptic knob (presynaptic axon terminal).
3. Neurotransmitter (NT) is released by exocytosis into synaptic cleft.
4. NT binds to receptors that are chemically gated channels on subsynaptic membrane of postsynaptic neuron.
5. Binding of NT to receptor opens that specific channel.
neurotransmitter– receptor combination
Chemical signal
Conversion of the electrical signal in the presynaptic neuron (an action
potential) to an electrical signal in the postsynaptic neuron by chemical
means takes time. This synaptic delay (the major disadvantage of
chemical compared to electrical synapses) is usually about 0.5 to 1 msec
EPSP and IPSP
• Graded potentials and action potentials are two types of electric potentials that occur in
the nervous system.
• The graded potentials arise by the action of ligand-gated ion channel proteins. The action
potentials arise by the voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels
Two types of postsynaptic potentials - EPSP and IPSP.
• EPSP- Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential
• IPSP - Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential.
• EPSP is a temporary depolarization that is caused by the flow of positively-charged ions into the
postsynaptic cell while IPSP is a hyperpolarization caused by the flow of negatively-charged ions
into the postsynaptic cell.
EPSP facilitates the firing of an action potential on the postsynaptic membrane
whereas IPSP lowers the firing of the action potential.
EPSP- Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential
• The non-propagated electrical potential Acetylcholine
• The binding of excitatory neurotransmitters, that are released from Glutamate
the presynaptic membrane, results in the formation of EPSP. Aspartate etc
• The common excitatory neurotransmitter is acetylcholine. At the
synapses, acetylcholine acts by attaching to receptors and activating
ligand-gated channels.
• As a result, sodium ions with positive charges start to enter the
postsynaptic cell.
• This makes the inside of the membrane slightly less negative than
resting potential, thus producing a small depolarization of the post
synaptic neuron.
EPSP is restricted to the synapse only.
It typically increases the neurons’ membrane potential.
The combined effect of multiple EPSPs on a single region of the
postsynaptic membrane equals the sum of the individual EPSPs.
EPSP possesses 2 main qualities:
1. It is non-propagated.
2. It disobeys the all-or-none law.
EPSP results in the axon’s development
of an action potential.
IPSP- Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential
Serotonin
• An electric charge on the postsynaptic membrane, which
Dopamine
makes the postsynaptic membrane less likely to generate an Glycine etc
action potential.
• The IPSP is caused by the flow of negatively-charged chloride
ions into the postsynaptic neuron.
• The binding of the inhibitory neurotransmitters to the
receptors of the postsynaptic membrane causes the opening
of the ligand-gated chloride ion channels. This results in a
hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane. The
hyperpolarization makes the postsynaptic membrane less
likely to generate an action potential.
• The most common inhibitory neurotransmitters are glycine
and GABA.
Determination of the grand postsynaptic potential by the sum of activity in the presynaptic inputs
(a) If an excitatory presynaptic input (Ex1) is stimulated a second time after the first EPSP in the postsynaptic cell has died off, a second EPSP of the
same magnitude will occur.
(b) If, however, Ex1 is stimulated a second time before the first EPSP has died off, the second EPSP will add onto, or sum with, the first EPSP, resulting
in temporal summation, which may bring the postsynaptic cell to threshold.
(c) The postsynaptic cell may also be brought to threshold by spatial summation of EPSPs that are initiated by simultaneous activation of two (Ex1 and
Ex2) or more excitatory presynaptic inputs.
(d) Simultaneous activation of an excitatory (Ex1) and inhibitory (In1) presynaptic input does not change the postsynaptic potential, because the
resultant EPSP and IPSP cancel each other out.
The cumulative effect of two PSPs close in time is called temporal
summation, while the cumulative effect of two simultaneous stimuli at
different locations is called spatial summation. Summation can be
additive (EPSP + EPSP) or subtractive (EPSP + IPSP).
Neuromuscular junction
(example of chemical synapse)
• Neuromuscular junction : the synapse between motor neuron and
muscle fiber is called the neuromuscular junction
• Motor neurons : are the nerves that innervate muscle fibers
• Motor unit : single motor neuron and the muscle fibers it innervate
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Physiologic anatomy of N.M junction
• As axon approaches muscle , it divides into many terminal branches
and loses its myelin sheath
• Each of these axon terminal forms special junction ,a neuromuscular
junction with one or more muscle fiber
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Physiologic anatomy of N.M junction
• The axon terminal is enlarged into a knoblike structure ,the terminal
botton, which fits into shallow depression in underlying muscle
fiber
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Events at a neuromuscular junction
Action potential
Ca2+
1 Na+
Presynaptic Acetylcholine bound
Synaptic terminal
vesicle to receptor site opens
Voltage-gated ligand-gated Na+
Ca2+ channel Synaptic cleft
2 channel
Acetylcholine Postsynaptic
membrane
Na+
Acetylcholine bound
to receptor site opens
ligand-gated Na+ 44
channel
Acetylcholine molecules combine with their receptor sites and
cause ligand-gated Na+ channels to open.
End plate potential
• When the ion channel on post synaptic membrane opens both Na+ & K+ flow down
their concentration gradient.
• At resting potential net driving force for Na+ is much greater than K+ ,when Ach
triggers opening of these channels more Na+ moves inwards than K+ out wards,
depolarizing the end plate. This potential change is called end plate potential (EPP).
• EPP is not an action potential but it is simply depolarization of specialized motor
end plate
• Small quanta (packets) of Ach are released randomly from nerve cell at rest, each
producing smallest possible change in membrane potential of motor end plate, the
MINIATURE EPP.
• When nerve impulse reaches the ending, the number of quanta release increases by
several folds and result in large EPP.
• EPP than spread by local current to adjacent muscle fibers which are depolarized to
threshold & fire action potential.
Acetyl cholinesterase ends Ach activity at N.M
junction
• To ensure purposeful movement ,muscle cell electrical response is
turned off by acetylcholinestrase(AchE), which degrade Ach to
choline & acetate
• About 50% of choline is returned to the presynaptic terminal by
Na+choline transport to be reused for Ach synthesis.
• Now muscle fiber can relax ,if sustained contraction is needed for
the desired movement another motor neuron AP leads to release
of more Ach
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Myasthenia gravis
• A disease involving N.M junction is characterized by the extreme muscular
weakness (myasthenia=muscular & gravis=severe)
• It is an auto immune condition (auto immune means immunity against self) in which
the body erroneously produces antibodies against its own motor end plate ach
receptors.
• Thus not all Ach molecules can find functioning receptors site with which to bind.
• As a results ,AchE destroys much of Ach before it ever has a chance to interact with
receptor site & contribute to EPP.
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Neurotransmitter
• Signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another
cell across a synapse.
• Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles into
the synaptic cleft where they are able to interact with
neurotransmitter receptors on the target cell
• Neurotransmitters are generally stored in synaptic vesicles,
clustered close to the cell membrane at the axon terminal of
the presynaptic neuron.
• Small-molecule neurotransmitters are synthesized at nerve
terminals. The enzymes necessary for neurotransmitter
synthesis are made in the cell body of the presynaptic cell
• Transported down the axon by slow axonal transport.
• Precursors are taken up into the terminals by specific
transporters.
• Neurotransmitter synthesis and packaging take place within
the nerve endings.
• After vesicle fusion and release, the neurotransmitter may
be enzymatically degraded. The reuptake of the
neurotransmitter (or its metabolites) starts another cycle of
synthesis, packaging, release, and removal
Small molecule neurotransmitters
Small molecule neurotransmitters can be
subdivided into groups based on chemical
structure.
• Amino acid transmitters include glutamate,
GABA, and glycine.
• The biogenic amines include serotonin and
histamine, and the catecholamines, a subgroup
of the biogenic amines, include dopamine,
norepinephrine, and epinephrine.
• Acetylcholine does not fit into a group.
Unlike the other small molecule neurotransmitters, norepinephrine is
synthesized within the vesicles, not in the cytoplasm.
Neuropeptides
• Neuropeptides are larger molecules made up of
anywhere from 2 to about 40 amino acids. • Neuropeptides are not stored within small
• They are synthesized in the neuronal cell body in the synaptic vesicles but instead are packaged in large
endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex and are dense-core vesicles, which are also present in the
subsequently moved by axonal transport along the axon terminal.
microtubular highways to the axon terminal • The dense-core vesicles undergo Ca2+-induced
exocytosis and release neuropeptides at the same
time that the neurotransmitter is released from
the synaptic vesicles.
• An axon terminal typically releases only a single classical
neurotransmitter, but the same terminal may also contain
one or more neuropeptides that are co-secreted along with
the neurotransmitter. Some known or suspected NP