Answer to Question #234814 in Human Anatomy and Physiology for moe

Question

6. • Explain how impulses are transferred from the presynaptic to the postsynaptic neuron.

Answer 1

In an electric synapse, ions move directly from one neuron to another via gap junctions. The membrane depolarization associated with an action potential in the presynaptic cell passes through the gap junctions, leading to a depolarization, and thus an action potential, in the postsynaptic cell.