Master Electrical Synapse with Picmonic for Pre-Health

An electrical synapse is an alternative to the chemical synapses found throughout the nervous system. Electrical synapses are found typically in cardiac and smooth muscle cells. They are characterized by the connection of the cytoplasm of a presynaptic and postsynaptic cell through channels. Presynaptic sodium floods through the gap junction, an intercellular connection. This sodium influx in the postsynaptic cell causes action potential generation, just as if the sodium flooded in through traditional voltage-gated channels. Two differences between electrical and chemical synapses are that signals can be transmitted in either direction with electrical synapses, whereas chemical synapses can only transmit action potentials in one direction. Additionally, transmission of the signal is much faster because of the short distance in between cells and because action potential generation does not depend on a neurotransmitter crossing the synaptic cleft and binding to a receptor.