Neuroscience

Shedding light on the synaptic complexities of vision

An individual retinal cell can output more than one unique signal, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications, a finding that sheds new light on the complexities of how vision functions ...

Neuroscience

Study reveals function of little-understood synapse in the brain

New research from Oregon Health & Science University for the first time reveals the function of a little-understood junction between cells in the brain that could have important treatment implications for conditions ranging ...

Neuroscience

Key mechanisms in the synapses of the cerebellum unraveled

Whether picking up a small object like a pen or coordinating different body parts, the cerebellum in the brain performs essential functions for controlling our movement. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology ...

Neuroscience

Timing is everything: How circadian rhythms influence our brains

Why are we mentally sharper at certain times of day? A study led by Jonathan Lipton MD, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital spells out the relationship between circadian rhythms—the body's natural day/night cycles—and ...

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Chemical synapse

Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body.

The adult human brain is estimated to contain from 1014 to 5 × 1014 (100-500 trillion) synapses.[citation needed] Each mm3 of cerebral cortex contains roughly a billion of them.

The word "synapse" comes from "synaptein", which Sir Charles Scott Sherrington and colleagues coined from the Greek "syn-" ("together") and "haptein" ("to clasp"). Chemical synapses are not the only type of biological synapse: electrical and immunological synapses also exist. Without a qualifier, however, "synapse" commonly means chemical synapse.

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