PSY290H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Tyrosine, Tryptophan, Metabotropic Receptor
Document Summary
Synapses: we use electron microscopy because the wavelength of light is too big to see the synapse, on postsynaptic neuron, the darkly stained cells anchor in receptors. Synapses: when we get to the axon terminals, there are no more voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels anymore, this is the point where the signal gets converted, the ap gets converted into a chemical signal. Synaptic transmission: what changed in a synapse, we see another type of voltage-gated channel, calcium, calcium plays a really important role in how we learn, calcium is really relevant for synapses. Stimulates a lot of 2nd messengers and enzymes in the presynaptic neuron: tell vesicles to bind with synaptic cleft and release their contents into synaptic cleft. Some of the transmitter molecules are going to get through and bind to receptors: excitatory receptors, allow sodium to pass through, results in epsp, depolarization. Inhibitory receptors: allows chloride to pass through, results in ipsp, hyperpolarization.