Transmission of Nerve Impulse

Transmission of Nerve Impulse

All the information from the environment are detected by the receptors located in our sense organs such as the eyes, the nose, the skin etc. Information from the receptors is transmitted as electrical impulse and is received by the dendritic tips of the neuron. This impulse travels from the dendrite to the cell body and then along the axon to its terminal end. On reaching the axonal end, it causes the nerve endings to release a chemical (neurotransmitter) which diffuses across a synapse and starts a similar electrical impulse in the dendrites of the next neuron, then to their cell body to be carried along the axon.

In this way, the electrical signal reaches the brain or spinal cord. The response from brain (or spinal cord) is similarly passed on to the effector organs such as the muscle or gland cell, that undergoes the desired response.

The flow of nerve impulses from axonal end of one neuron to dendrite of another neuron through a synapse is called synaptic transmission.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are the chemicals which allow the transmission of nerve impulse from the axon terminal of one neuron to the dendron of another neuron or to an effector organ. The important neurotransmitter released by neurons is called Acetylcholine.