Chemical synapse

Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be sent 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.

At a chemical synapse, one neuron releases neurotransmitter molecules into a small space (the synaptic cleft) that is adjacent to another neuron. The neurotransmitters are contained within small sacs called synaptic vesicles, and are released into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis. These molecules then bind to neurotransmitter receptors on the postsynaptic cell. Finally, the neurotransmitters are cleared from the synapse through one of several potential mechanisms including enzymatic degradation or re-uptake by specific transporters either on the presynaptic cell or on some other neuroglia to terminate the action of the neurotransmitter.

The adult human brain is estimated to contain from 10¹⁴ to 5 × 10¹⁴ (100–500 trillion) synapses.^[1] Every cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly a billion (short scale, i.e. 10⁹) of them.^[2] The number of synapses in the human cerebral cortex has separately been estimated at 0.15 quadrillion (150 trillion)^[3]

The word "synapse" was introduced by Sir Charles Scott Sherrington in 1897.^[4] Chemical synapses are not the only type of biological synapse: electrical and immunological synapses also exist. Without a qualifier, however, "synapse" commonly refers to chemical synapses.