neurons and synaptic transmission

• reuptake

  process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles for reuse
• inhibition

  A synaptic message, through neurotransmitters, that makes a recipient neuron less likely to fire
• excitation

  A synaptic message, through neurotransmitters, that makes a recipient neuron more likely to fire.
• neurotransmitter

  chemical used by a neuron to transmit an impulse across a synapse to another cell
• synaptic transmission

  The relaying of information across the synapse by means of chemical neurotransmitters.
• receptor

  A small area on the dendrite that receives the signal from the other neuron
• synapse

  A junction where information is transmitted from one neuron to the next.
• dendrite

  Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
• synaptic cleft

  The narrow gap that separates the presynaptic neuron from the postsynaptic cell.
• sensory neuron

  neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord (CNS)
• motor neuron


  a neuron that sends an impulse to a muscle or gland, causing the muscle or gland to react
• relay neuron

  the nerve cell that connects sensory and motor neurons, carries impulese between CNS
• vesicle

  the portion of the axon terminal where neurotransmitters are stored before being released across nerve synapses.
• axon

  the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
• myellin

  layer to protect the axon and promote transmission