PSYB65H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Autonomic Nervous System, Somatic Nervous System, Vagus Nerve

• School: UTSC
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYB65H3
• Professor: Zachariah Campbell

Document Summary

Chemical synapses: organelles consisting of a membrane structure that contains neurotransmitters are called synaptic vesicles; these are held in large compartments called storage granules. From here, it is expelled into the synaptic cleft through the process of exocytosis, crosses the cleft and binds to the receptor on the postsynaptic membrane. Sometimes transporter proteins absorb the neurotransmitter ready made: neurotransmitters in the axon terminal can be found in 3 general locations. Step 3: receptor-site activation: the released neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to protein molecules embedded in the postsynaptic membrane, these transmitter activated receptors have binding sites for the transmitters, the transmitter may: Depolarize the post synaptic membrane and have an excitatory action on the neuron. Hyperpolarize the post synaptic membrane and have an inhibitory action on the neuron. Initiate other chemical reactions that either effect, inhibitory or excitatory, or influence other functions of the neuron: neurotransmitters may also interact with receptors on the presynaptic membrane.