PS263 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Axon Terminal, Neurotransmitter Receptor, Dendritic Spine
Document Summary
Arrangement of the dendrites of one neuron in relation to the axon terminals of other neurons. This arrangement is called axodendritic in the axon button of a given neuron forms a synapse with the dendritic spine of another neuron. There are other arrangements possible but i will not discuss them here. Voltage-activated calcium channels (ca++) are opened in response to the change in membrane potential caused by the action potential. By communication i mean that the pre-synaptic neuron can ultimately influence the membrane potential of the post-synaptic neuron. ] Once released the neurotransmitter molecules migrate towards the post-synaptic membrane and bind with receptors there. It turns out that generally each neurotransmitter can bind to more than one receptor. These are called the receptor subtypes for that neurotransmitter. There are two broad classes of post-synaptic receptors: Ion-channel linked receptors are linked to chemically activated ion channels.
