AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The axon is a long extension that leaves the cell body and conducts the information to another neuron through the release of neurotransmitters from the synaptic vesicles located at the end of the axon. A neurotransmitter is a biological molecule that carries information from one neuron to another.

Detailed explanation-2: -Neurotransmitters are stored in small containers (vesicles) located in knoblike structures (terminal buttons) on the axon tips. The axon of the presynaptic neuron does not actually touch the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron and is separated from them by a space called the synaptic cleft.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fusion of the vesicular membrane and the cell membrane leads to emptying of acetylcholine from the vesicle by exocytosis. Acetylcholine diffuses through the synaptic cleft and binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the muscle cell membrane.

Detailed explanation-4: -Neurotransmitter Release. At rest, neurotransmitter-containing vesicles are stored at the terminal of the neuron in one of two places. A small number of vesicles are positioned along the pre-synaptic membrane in places called “active zones.” This is where neurotransmitter release occurs.

Detailed explanation-5: -Importance. The axon terminal is the part of the axon that releases the neurotransmitters that relay signals across a synapse.