PSYC314 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential, Ligand-Gated Ion Channel, Neurotransmitter Receptor

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC314
• Professor: Tiffany Doherty

Document Summary

Presynaptic neurons -> makes neurotransmitters and stores neurotransmitter in synaptic vesicles. A train of action potentials comes firing down the axon to the terminal button. Neurotransmitter binds to specific receptors in the postsynaptic membrane and activate those. Synaptic vesicles fuse with the membrane and release neurotransmitter into synaptic cleft receptors. Activation of the postsynaptic receptors elicits a change in the membrane potential of the post synaptic neuron -> this is known as postsynaptic potential (it will change the charge of the membrane) Neurotransmitter is removed from the synapse in 1 of 3 ways: deactivation, reuptake or diffusion. Ionotropic receptors: the neurotransmitter receptor is actually an ion channel: excitatory. Metabotropic receptors: the neurotransmitter receptor is not an ion channel, but instead elicits a chain of biochemical events in side the postsynaptic cell. (g protein) Cell depolarizes -> the more that the postsynaptic membrane gets depolarized, the more likely it is to fire an action potential.