WHERE IN A NEURON CONVERSIONS OF ELECTICAL SIGNALS TO A CHEMICAL SIGNAL OCCUR
WHERE IN A NEURON CONVERSIONS OF ELECTICAL SIGNALS TO A CHEMICAL SIGNAL OCCUR
For communication between cells, the electrical signals generally are converted into chemical signals conveyed by small messenger molecules called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are the chemical signal that carries information from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic one. In other words, an electrical impulse (the action potential) has been converted to a chemical one (the neurotransmitter).
An electrical signal is converted into a chemical signal at a nerve terminal. When an action potential reaches a nerve terminal, it opens voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane, allowing Ca2+ to flow into the terminal. The increased Ca2+ in the nerve terminal stimulates the synaptic vesicles to fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing their neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft.
For communication between cells, the electrical signals generally are converted into chemical signals conveyed by small messenger molecules called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are the chemical signal that carries information from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic one. In other words, an electrical impulse (the action potential) has been converted to a chemical one (the neurotransmitter).
An electrical signal is converted into a chemical signal at a nerve terminal. When an action potential reaches a nerve terminal, it opens voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane, allowing Ca2+ to flow into the terminal. The increased Ca2+ in the nerve terminal stimulates the synaptic vesicles to fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing their neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft.
