The small volume of the cleft allows neurotransmitter concentration to be raised and lowered rapidly
Thickened and modified portions both on the synaptic knob membrane and post synaptic membrane
synaptic knob or bouton one ofup to 50 swellings at the terminal branches of a neuron which, together with the area of invaginated muscular membrane beneath each, collectively form the endplate
This is the idea of simultaneous EPSPs: one or two EPSPs may not be sufficient to stimulate the target neuron
] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition
Such cells are separated by a space called a synaptic cleft and thus cannot transmit action potentials directly
Nerve impulse travels along the axon to the synaptic terminal
This gap is about 20 to 50 nanometre wide and is filled with extracellular fluid
The synaptic knob is filled with membrane-enclosed vesiclescontaining a neurotransmitter
Under very high magnification, a very tiny space, the synaptic cleft or gap (about one millionth of an inch, or mm), can be detected between the synaptic knob and dendrite or cell body
Neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the membrane of the postsynaptic cell
The function of a synaptic knob is to change the action potential that is carried by axons into a chemical message