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Synapse - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Synapse : (noun)
1: the junction between two neurons (axon-to-dendrite) or
between a neuron and a muscle; "nerve impulses cross a
synapse through the action of neurotransmitters"
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Synapse : Synapse: The point of connection usually between two receptors situated on the target cell. The target cell may be another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle cell or a secretory
cell (a cell than can make and secrete a substance). Neurons can also communicate through direct electrical connections (electrical synapses).
Etymology: The term "synapse" was coined in 1897 by the English physiologist Charles Sherrington, with some help from classical scholars of his acquaintance. They fashioned the word from the
Greek word "synaptein" meaning to fasten together. "Synaptein" is combined from the Greek "syn-", together and "haptein" meaning to fasten or bind. (Based on "haptein" comes the immunologic term " hapten
.")
History: Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952) was a highly influential figure in the development not only of neurophysiology (the intersection between Physiology in 1932 with Lord
Edgar Douglas Adrian of Cambridge University for "their discoveries regarding the functions of neurons."
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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