Synaptic transmission

• 1. Synaptic transmission begins when an electrical charge travels down the axon of the presynaptic neuron.
• 2. If it has enough action potential, it will cause the vesicles to burst, releasing neurotransmitters (chemical impulses) into the synaptic cleft.
• 3. The neurotransmitters travel across the synapse
• 4. They are absorbed by the postsynaptic receptor sites and turned back into an electrical signal.
• 5. Summation takes place where if a neurotransmitter is excitatory, transmission is more likely to happen and if it's inhibitory, it is less likely.
• 6. The electrical signal then carries on down the postsynaptic neuron
• 7. The remaining neurotransmitters that are in the synaptic cleft get reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron.