NEUR 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Neuromuscular Junction, Chemical Synapse, Chemical Substance
Document Summary
Synthesized and store by the presynaptic neuron. When ap reaches terminal region, an nt is released. There must be specific receptors for the chemical ligand on the postsynaptic neuron. Same responds in postsynaptic cell when stimulation is artificially applied. If a chemical substance meets these 4 criteria, then we call it a neurotransmitter. The nts that we usually hear about are not the most abundant (dopamine, norepinephrine). The most abundant nts are the ones that send primary sensory and primary motor messages aka efferent and afferent messages, throughout the brain are the most abundant. Afferent is coming in and efferent is going to. The primary ones that do this are glutamate and gaba. Glutamate and gaba: primary neurotransmitters in cns, communicate specific sensor/motor messages throughout the brain, glutamate and gaba are released at specific nt pathways in the brain that give rise to sensation and perception.
