The Advantages of Chemical Synapses | Study

Running head: CHEMICAL SYNAPSES
Chemical Synapses
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CHEMICAL SYNAPSES1
The advantages of chemical synapses
Chemical synapses are specialised junctional area through which cells of the nervous
system signals transmits signals from one neurons to another and also from non-neuronal
cells such as glands and muscles (Andreae & Burrone, 2018). The main advantages of
chemical synaptic transmission over electrical transmission are amplification and modulation.
The amplification signal is very abundant in the nerve-muscle junctions (Sheffler &
Pillarisetty, 2019). An action potential in an only presynaptic motor neuron helps in the
contraction of numerous muscle cells since signalling molecules are essential to stimulate
contraction. The quantity of electrical signal that is present in the presynaptic terminal is not
satisfactory enough to provide effect on the postsynaptic cells (Pereda, 2014). The chemical
synapse has is complex because it requires amplification to generate adequate impulse. The
advantage of this is the part of presynaptic terminal is small which is helpful in processing the
information within the neuron. The next advantage of this chemical synaptic transmission is
modulation. It is the ability of changing the efficacy of the synaptic transmission. The sites of
this modulation can be increase in calcium conductance that occurs in the presynaptic
terminal, the biding capacity of the neurotransmitters to the receptors of postsynaptic
neurons. The kinetics of channel opening and closing at the nerve junctions (Elegheert et al.,
2017). Other advantage of this chemical transmission is that the pathway is unidirectional that
is- neurotransmitters are released by the neurons into the synaptic cleft, which is further
realised by the exocytosis in the synaptic cleft. The signals are also different in presynaptic
junction and post synaptic junction. The transmission provides an extra regulation nervous
system as the presynaptic region either activates or inhibits the cells of the postsynaptic
region (Jewett & Sharma, 2019). The chemical synapses has both the types of signals that is
excitatory or action potential caused due to the neurotransmitters that effects the postsynaptic