synaptic transmission

• How does the synapse help in biological psychology?

  It helps understand information transfer and drug effects
• What is synaptic transmission?

  • Process of information transfer between neurons
  • Involves electrical impulses and neurotransmitters
  • Critical for communication in the nervous system
• What are the chemical messages called that transmit information across the synapse?

  Neurotransmitters
• What happens when an action potential reaches the axon terminal?

  It causes vesicles to release neurotransmitters
• What is the gap between two neurons called?

  Synaptic cleft
• What do the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron detect?

  Neurotransmitters
• What is the role of transport proteins in the presynaptic neuron?

  They take neurotransmitters back into the cell
• What are the steps of synaptic transmission?

  1. Action potential arrives at axon terminal
  2. Vesicles merge with presynaptic membrane
  3. Neurotransmitters released into synaptic cleft
  4. Neurotransmitters diffuse to postsynaptic cell
  5. Summation occurs to form new action potential
• What is summation in synaptic transmission?

  It combines excitatory and inhibitory signals
• What effect do inhibitory neurotransmitters have on the postsynaptic neuron?

  They make the neuron more negative
• What do SSRIs do in the brain?

  They block serotonin reabsorption
• How does cocaine affect neurotransmitter transmission?

  It blocks dopamine reabsorption
• What is the significance of synapses in the brain?

  • Fundamental for consciousness and memory
  • Enable complex interactions between neurons
  • Essential for all brain functions