Yr 13 Synaptic Transmission

Question 1

AO1 of a Synapse

Answer 1

aka an Axon Terminal; found at the end of a nerve cell (neuron) and allows neurons to communicate by passing on chemical signals (synaptic transmission)

Question 2

AO1 of Neurotransmitters

Answer 2

chemical messengers released by neurons
either excitatory or inhibitory, these influence how likely an action potential is to occur

Question 3

AO1 of the Process of Synaptic Transmission

Answer 3

Once the chemical impulse reaches the presynaptic terminal it is converted into a chemical impulse and a neurotransmitter is released from a vesicle to carry that impulse across the gap. Once the impulse is across it is converted back into an electrical impulse and the neurotransmitter is taken back in, this is called reuptake.

Question 4

What is summation?

Answer 4

Summation is the total excitatory and inhibitory values on an action potential that decides if the action takes place or not

Question 5

Define Uni-directional

Answer 5

The idea that the action potential can only cross one way across the synapse