Concept information
- Research, Technology, Methods
- experimental design
- mathematics and statistics
- animal anatomy
- nervous system
Preferred term
synapse
Type
-
Topic
Definition
-
Specialized junctions at which a neuron communicates with a target cell. At classical synapses, a neuron's presynaptic terminal releases a chemical transmitter stored in synaptic vesicles which diffuses across a narrow synaptic cleft and activates receptors on the postsynaptic membrane of the target cell. The target may be a dendrite, cell body, or axon of another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle or secretory cell.
Source: Medical Subject Headings
Type: Concept definition
Broader concept
Narrower concepts
Synonyms
- synapses (nervous system)
Scope note
- Use for the specialized junctions at which a neuron communicates with a target cell via chemical transmitters; for the communication of neurons through direct electrical connections (electrical synapses) USE gap junctions.
In other languages
-
Spanish
URI
https://lod.nal.usda.gov/nalt/54683
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