(N/A) In an electrical synapse,the membranes of pre-synaptic and post-synaptic neurons are in very close proximity.
Electrical current flows directly from one neuron into the other across these synapses.
Impulse transmission across an electrical synapse is very similar to impulse conduction along a single axon.
Impulse transmission across an electrical synapse is always faster than that across a chemical synapse.
Electrical synapses are rare in the human neural system.
Chemical Synapse:
In a chemical synapse,the membranes of the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic neurons are separated by a fluid-filled space called the synaptic cleft.
Chemicals called neurotransmitters are involved in the transmission of impulses at these synapses.
The axon terminals contain vesicles filled with these neurotransmitters.
When an impulse arrives at the axon terminal,it stimulates the synaptic vesicles to move towards the membrane,where they fuse with the plasma membrane and release their neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft.
The released neurotransmitters bind to their specific receptors,present on the post-synaptic membrane.
This binding opens ion channels,allowing the entry of ions which can generate a new potential in the post-synaptic neuron.
The new potential developed may be either excitatory or inhibitory.