12.2 Synaptic Transmission

Question 1

What is a synapse?

Answer 1

junction between the axon terminus of a neuron and the dendrites, somas, or axons of a second neuron

Question 2

What are electrical synapses?

Answer 2

occur when the cytoplasms of two cells are joined together by gap junctions

Question 3

What are chemical synapses?

Answer 3

found in the ends of axons where they meet their target cells

Question 4

What is the neuromuscular junction?

Answer 4

chemical synapse between a neuron and skeletal muscle

Question 5

What are important neurotransmitters?

Answer 5

GABA
serotonin
dopamine
norepiphrine

Question 6

What is an excitatory neurotransmitter?

Answer 6

neurotransmitter that opens a channel the depolarizes the postsynaptic membrane

Question 7

What is an inhibitory neurotransmitter?

Answer 7

neurotransmitter than makes the postsynaptic membrane potential more negative than the resting membrane potential

Question 8

What is summation?

Answer 8

integration of input from many presynaptic neurons by a single postsynaptic neuron, either temporally or spatially

Question 9

What are EPSPs?

Answer 9

excitatory postsynaptic potentials

Question 10

What are IPSPs?

Answer 10

inhibitory postsynaptic potentials

Question 11

What is temporal summation?

Answer 11

presynaptic neuron fires action potentials so rapidly that the EPSPs and IPSPs pile on top of one another

Question 12

What is spatial summation?

Answer 12

EPSPs and IPSPs from all of the synapses on the postsynaptic membrane are summed at a given moment in time