Central Nervous System Synapses

Central Nervous System Synapses

Every medical student is aware that information is transmitted in the central nervous system mainly in the form of nerve action potentials, called simply “nerve impulses,” through a succession of neurons, one after another. However, in addition, each impulse (1) may be blocked in its transmission from one neuron to the next, (2) may be changed from a single impulse into repetitive impulses, or (3) may be integrated with impulses from other neurons to cause highly intricate patterns of impulses in successive neurons. All these functions can be classified as synaptic functions ofneurons.