PHGY 214 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Resting Potential, Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Physiology
• Course: PHGY 214
• Professor: Shetuan Zhang

Document Summary

Specialized structure at the end of axon which con- tacts the postsynaptic dendrite or soma. Where electrical signals are transmitted from one cell to another. Process presynaptic neuron > synaptic knob > contains synaptic vesicles which store a spe- cific chemical messen- ger > synaptic cleft. Neurotransmitters and signals: action potential is propagated to the terminal of a presynaptic neuron. Voltage gated ca2+ channels are activated by. Change in potential in axon opens voltage gated changes in electrical potential. Ca2+ channels: ca2+ enters the synaptic knob (presynaptic terminal, neurotransmitter is released by exocytosis into the synap- tic cleft con- version of the electrical impulse to the chemical signal. Neurotrans- subsynaptic membrane mitter binds to receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron. If excitatory presynaptic input (ex1) is stimulated a second time before the first epsp has died odd, the second epsp will add onto the first epsp, which may bring the postsynaptic cell to threshold: spatial summation.