Electrical synapse

Electrical synapse
Electrical synapse
	Diagram of a gap junction
Identifiers
MeSH	D054351
TH	H1.00.01.1.02024
FMA	67130
	Anatomical terminology

An electrical synapse is a mechanical and electrically conductive synapse, a functional junction between two neighboring neurons. The synapse is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons known as a gap junction. At gap junctions, such cells approach within about 3.8 nm of each other,^[1] a much shorter distance than the 20- to 40-nanometer distance that separates cells at a chemical synapse.^[2] In many^[specify] animals, electrical synapse-based systems co-exist with chemical synapses.

Compared to chemical synapses, electrical synapses conduct nerve impulses faster, but, unlike chemical synapses, they lack gain—the signal in the postsynaptic neuron is the same or smaller than that of the originating neuron. The fundamental bases for perceiving electrical synapses comes down to the connexons that are located in the gap junction between two neurons. Electrical synapses are often found in neural systems that require the fastest possible response, such as defensive reflexes. An important characteristic of electrical synapses is that they are mostly bidirectional, allowing impulse transmission in either direction.^[3]^[4]

^ Kandel, ER; Schwartz, JH; Jessell, TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-8385-7701-1.
^ Hormuzdi SG, Filippov MA, Mitropoulou G, Monyer H, Bruzzone R (March 2004). "Electrical synapses: a dynamic signaling system that shapes the activity of neuronal networks". Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1662 (1–2): 113–37. doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2003.10.023. PMID 15033583.
^ Purves, Dale; George J. Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; William C. Hall; Anthony-Samuel LaMantia; James O. McNamara & Leonard E. White (2008). Neuroscience (4th ed.). Sinauer Associates. pp. 85–88. ISBN 978-0-87893-697-7.
^ Purves, Dale; George J. Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; William C. Hall; Anthony-Samuel LaMantia; Richard D. Mooney; Leonard E. White & Michael L. Platt (2018). Neuroscience (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-1605353807.

[Kandel00-1] Kandel, ER; Schwartz, JH; Jessell, TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-8385-7701-1.

[Hormuzdi04-2] Hormuzdi SG, Filippov MA, Mitropoulou G, Monyer H, Bruzzone R (March 2004). "Electrical synapses: a dynamic signaling system that shapes the activity of neuronal networks". Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1662 (1–2): 113–37. doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2003.10.023. PMID 15033583.

[Purves-3] Purves, Dale; George J. Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; William C. Hall; Anthony-Samuel LaMantia; James O. McNamara & Leonard E. White (2008). Neuroscience (4th ed.). Sinauer Associates. pp. 85–88. ISBN 978-0-87893-697-7.

[4] Purves, Dale; George J. Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; William C. Hall; Anthony-Samuel LaMantia; Richard D. Mooney; Leonard E. White & Michael L. Platt (2018). Neuroscience (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-1605353807.

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