KIN 270 Michael Gaetz Ph.D.

Open Stax Chapter 12

Fundamentals of the Nervous System and Nervous Tissue
Part 4

Electrical Synapses
 Less common than chemical synapses
 Neurons are electrically coupled
 Joined by gap junctions that connect cytoplasm of adjacent neurons
 Communication is very rapid and may be unidirectional or bidirectional
 Found in some brain regions responsible for eye movements or hippocampus in areas
involved in emotions and memory
 Astrocytes communicate using gap junctions

12.5 Postsynaptic Potentials

 Neurotransmitter receptors cause graded potentials that vary in strength based on:
 Amount of neurotransmitter released
 The time that the neurotransmitter stays in cleft
 Depending on effect of chemical synapse, there are two types of postsynaptic potentials
 EPSP: excitatory postsynaptic potentials
 IPSP: inhibitory postsynaptic potentials

Excitatory Synapses and EPSPs

 Neurotransmitter binding opens chemically gated channels
 Allows simultaneous flow of Na+ and K+ in opposite directions
 Na influx greater than K+ efflux, resulting in local net graded potential depolarization called
+

excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)

 EPSPs trigger AP if they reach threshold strength*
 Can spread to axon hillock and trigger opening of voltage-gated channels, causing AP to be
generated

Figure: Postsynaptic potentials can be excitatory or inhibitory

Inhibitory Synapses and IPSPs

 Neurotransmitter binding to receptor opens chemically-gated channels that allow entrance/exit of
ions that cause hyperpolarization
 Makes postsynaptic membrane more permeable to K+ or Cl–
 If K+ channels open, it moves out of cell
 If Cl– channels open, it moves into cell
 Reduces postsynaptic neuron’s ability to produce an action potential
 Moves neuron farther away from threshold (makes it more negative)

Figure: Postsynaptic potentials can be excitatory or inhibitory

Integration and Modification of Synaptic Events

 Summation by the postsynaptic neuron
 A single EPSP cannot induce an AP, but EPSPs can summate (add together) to influence
postsynaptic neuron
 IPSPs can also summate
 Most neurons receive both excitatory (EPSP) and inhibitory (IPSP) inputs from thousands of
other neurons
  Only if EPSPs predominate and move the resting membrane potential past threshold
will an AP be generated
 Two types of summations: temporal and spatial

Integration and Modification of Synaptic Events (cont.)

 Temporal summation
 A theoretical example: one presynaptic neuron firing rapidly
 First impulse produces EPSP, and before it can dissipate another EPSP is
triggered, adding more excitation to the first impulse
 Spatial summation
 Postsynaptic neuron is stimulated once by large number of axon terminals at
approximately the same time
 Many EPSP are produced and then summate
Figure: Neural integration of EPSPs and IPSPs

Integration and Modification of Synaptic Events (cont.)

 Synaptic potentiation
 Repeated use of a synapse increases the ability of the presynaptic neuron to excite the
postsynaptic neuron
 Increased synaptic activity increases Ca2+ concentration in presynaptic terminal,
causing the release of more neurotransmitter
 Leads to larger EPSPs in postsynaptic neuron
 Potentiation can cause Ca2+ voltage gates to open on postsynaptic cell dendrites
 Ca2+ activates kinase enzymes, leading to more effective response to subsequent
stimuli
 This has been termed long-term potentiation: the basis for learning and memory

Comparison of Graded Potentials and Action Potentials

*Integration and Modification of Synaptic Events (cont.)

 Presynaptic inhibition
 The size of the AP is reduced in the presynaptic cell by an axoaxonic IPSP
 Less neurotransmitter is released leading to fewer EPSPs in post-synaptic cell
 Post-synaptic inhibition
 Inhibition of the AP occurs due to axosomatic IPSP at the axon hillock of the post-synaptic cell
 No AP occurs

12.5 Neurotransmitters
 50 or more chemicals that can act as neurotransmitters have been identified
 Most neurons make two or more neurotransmitters; usually released at different stimulation
frequencies
 We will focus on acetylcholine, biogenic amines, and amino acid neurotransmitters.
 * Know the following content.

Classification of Neurotransmitters by Chemical Structure

 Acetylcholine (ACh)
 First identified and best understood
 Released at neuromuscular junctions
 Also used by many ANS neurons and some CNS neurons
 Synthesized from acetic acid and choline by enzyme choline acetyltransferase
 Degraded by enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE)
Classification of Neurotransmitters by Chemical Structure (cont.)
 Biogenic amines
 Catecholamines
 Dopamine, norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine: made from the amino acid
tyrosine
 Indolamines
 Serotonin: made from the amino acid tryptophan
 Histamine: made from the amino acid histidine
 All widely used in brain: play roles in emotional behaviors and biological clock (circadian
rhythms)
 Used by some ANS motor neurons
 Especially NE
 Imbalances are associated with mental illness

Classification of Neurotransmitters by Chemical Structure (cont.)

 Amino acids
 Amino acids make up all proteins: therefore, it is difficult to prove which are
neurotransmitters
 Amino acids that are proven neurotransmitters:
 Glutamate (generally excitatory)
 Glycine (generally inhibitory)
 GABA: gamma (g)-aminobutyric acid (generally inhibitory)

Neurotransmitter Receptors
 Channel-linked receptors
 Also more commonly known as: Ligand-gated ion channels
 Action is immediate and brief
 Excitatory receptors are channels for small cations
 Na+ influx contributes most to depolarization
 Inhibitory receptors allow Cl– influx that causes hyperpolarization

Figure: Channel-linked receptors cause rapid synaptic transmission

Neurotransmitter Receptors (cont.)

 G protein–linked receptors
 Responses are indirect, complex, slow, and often prolonged
 Involves transmembrane protein complexes
 Cause widespread metabolic changes
 Examples:
 Muscarinic ACh receptors
 Receptors that bind biogenic amines
 Receptors that bind neuropeptides

Figure: G protein–linked receptors cause the formation of intracellular second

messengers

*Patterns of Neural Processing

 Serial processing
 Input travels along one pathway to a specific destination
 One neuron stimulates the next one, which stimulates next one, etc.
  System works in all-or-none manner to produce specific, anticipated response
 Best example of serial processing is a simple spinal reflex

*Patterns of Neural Processing (cont.)

 Serial processing (cont.)
 Simple Reflexes
 Rapid, automatic responses to stimuli
 Particular stimulus always causes the same response
 Occur over pathways called reflex arcs that have five components:
 Receptor
 Sensory neuron
 CNS integration center
 Motor neuron
 Effector

Figure: A simple reflex arc

*Patterns of Neural Processing (cont.)

 Parallel processing
 Input travels along several pathways in the same direction simultaneously
 Example 1: Eye simultaneously sends information about color, depth, contrast, etc. to
occipital cortex
 Example 2: Sense of touch codes hot, cold, deep pressure, light touch, vibration, etc. and
simultaneously sends it to spinal cord and brain.

Types of Circuits
 Circuits: patterns of synaptic connections in neuronal pools
 Four types of circuits
 Diverging
 Converging
 Reverberating
 Parallel after-discharge

Figure: Types of circuits in neuronal pools