Lecture

Synapses: Neuronal Dynamics

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Description

This lecture covers the role of synapses in computational neuroscience, focusing on neurotransmitter release, post-synaptic ion channels, and different types of synapses. It also discusses the models of excitatory and inhibitory synapses, including AMPA and NMDA receptors.

In MOOC

Neuronal Dynamics - Computational Neuroscience of Single Neurons

This course gives an introduction to the field of theoretical and computational neuroscience with a focus on models of single neurons. Neurons encode information about stimuli in a sequence of short electrical pulses (spikes).

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Neurotransmission

Related concepts (32)

Synapse

In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from one neuron to another. Neurons are specialized to pass signals to individual target cells, and synapses are the means by which they do so. At a synapse, the plasma membrane of the signal-passing neuron (the presynaptic neuron) comes into close apposition with the membrane of the target (postsynaptic) cell.

Chemical synapse

Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be sent to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body. At a chemical synapse, one neuron releases neurotransmitter molecules into a small space (the synaptic cleft) that is adjacent to another neuron.

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is a kind of synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential. IPSPs were first investigated in motorneurons by David P. C. Lloyd, John Eccles and Rodolfo Llinás in the 1950s and 1960s. The opposite of an inhibitory postsynaptic potential is an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), which is a synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron more likely to generate an action potential.

Excitatory synapse

An excitatory synapse is a synapse in which an action potential in a presynaptic neuron increases the probability of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell. Neurons form networks through which nerve impulses travels, each neuron often making numerous connections with other cells of neurons. These electrical signals may be excitatory or inhibitory, and, if the total of excitatory influences exceeds that of the inhibitory influences, the neuron will generate a new action potential at its axon hillock, thus transmitting the information to yet another cell.

Neurotransmitter

A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft where they are able to interact with neurotransmitter receptors on the target cell. The neurotransmitter's effect on the target cell is determined by the receptor it binds to.

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Understanding Synaptic Transmission

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Synaptic transmission: Structure and Mechanisms MOOC: Simulation Neurocience

Explores the structure and function of synapses, including neurotransmitter diversity and the role of AMPA and NMDA receptors.

Modeling the synaptic potential MOOC: Simulation Neurocience

Explores the modeling of synaptic potentials and the factors influencing their amplitude.

Synaptic Transmission: Electrical vs Chemical

Compares electrical and chemical synapses, emphasizing their properties and behavior, including the neuromuscular junction and synapses in the CNS.

Neurotransmitters: Receptors and Effects