Concept Of The Synapse

A Little Bit Of History On The Synapse

In the 1880s, Santiago Ramon Cajal was the first to realise that neurons were
discrete entities, conducting their impulses in one direction only down their axon and
receiving information through dendrites on the cell body; and, most notably, that
there was a gap between one cell and the next. The nature of this gap and how
impulses were transmitted across it was unknown at the time. It was Charles Scott
Sherrington who introduced the term synapse in 1897.

Santiago Ramon Cajal and Charles Scott Sherrington

What Is A Synapse?
Synapses are microscopic gaps that separate the terminal buttons of one neuron
from receptors (usually, located on the dendrites) of another neuron. When neurons
communicate, they release chemicals that must travel across this gap to stimulate
the post-synaptic receptors.
The human brain contains trillions of neurons, although it contains about 100 billion
neurons. Thus, on average, each neuron communicates through tens of synapses,
although in reality the range is very wide – some neurons terminate in a few
synapses, while others may be involved in communicating through thousands of
synapses.

Although the typical structure of a synapse involves a gap that separates axonic
terminal buttons of the pre-synaptic neurons with dendritic receptors of the post-
synaptic cells, other types of synapses also exist.

Components of Synapse

Types of Synapses
● Axo-dendritic synapse - this typically forms when the membrane of the
terminal bulb of an axon comes into contact with that of a dendrite.
Axodendritic synapses are the commonest type of synapse in the CNS.
● Axo-somatic synapse - here the axon synapses directly with the soma – these
may be excitatory or inhibitory.
● Axo-axonic synapse - here the axon connects with the axon of another neuron
– these are usually inhibitory, as they make the receiving neuron less
excitable.
● Dendro-dendritic - synapse between dendrite and dendrite.
● Dendro-axonic synapse - a dendrite communicates with axon (rare).
● Synapse between soma and another soma.
● Neuromuscular junction - an axon may finally end on muscle fibres
(commonest synapse in the peripheral nervous system).