EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Neurotransmitter – A chemical released from a neuron following an action potential. The neurotransmitter travels across the synapse to excite or inhibit the target neuron.

Detailed explanation-2: -A neuron sending a signal (i.e., a presynaptic neuron) releases a chemical called a neurotransmitter, which binds to a receptor on the surface of the receiving (i.e., postsynaptic) neuron.

Detailed explanation-3: -An action potential occurs when a neuron sends information down an axon, away from the cell body. Neuroscientists use other words, such as a “spike” or an “impulse” for the action potential. The action potential is an explosion of electrical activity that is created by a depolarizing current.

Detailed explanation-4: -Action potentials (those electrical impulses that send signals around your body) are nothing more than a temporary shift (from negative to positive) in the neuron’s membrane potential caused by ions suddenly flowing in and out of the neuron.

Detailed explanation-5: -The transfer of information from neuron to neuron takes place through the release of chemical substances into the space between the axon and the dendrites. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters, and the process is called neurotransmission.