Synaptic transmission is the process by which neurons convert electrical activity into chemical or electrical communication across synapses.[1][2] Efficient transmission requires coordinated presynaptic vesicle cycling, calcium-triggered release, receptor activation, and postsynaptic signal integration.
Small disruptions in synaptic release probability, receptor composition, or synaptic maintenance can scale into network dysfunction.[1:1] Because synaptic failure often precedes cell loss, disturbed transmission is a recurring early feature in disorders ranging from Alzheimer's disease to synucleinopathies and developmental brain disorders.[1:2]
Synaptopathies: synaptic dysfunction in neurological disorders - A review from students to students. Journal of Neurochemistry (2016). ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
A theory of synaptic transmission. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2022). ↩︎