A neuron generates and propagates an action potential along its axon, then transmits this signal across a synapse by releasing neurotransmitters, which trigger a reaction in another neuron or an effector cell (eg, muscle cells, most exocrine and endocrine cells). The signal may stimulate or inhibit the receiving cell, depending on the neurotransmitter and receptor involved.
In the CNS, interconnections are complex. An impulse from one neuron to another may pass from axon to cell body, axon to dendrite (a neuron’s receiving branches), cell body to cell body, or dendrite to dendrite. A neuron can simultaneously Continue reading “Neurotransmission”