Electrical Synapses - Nervous System

 ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES

Most synapses are chemical synapses; however, more recently, electrical synapses (Figure 5.9B) have been discovered in the brain. 


Such synapses also exist be-tween smooth muscle cells, between cardiac cells, and between glial cells. In the region of such a synapse, there are gap junctions  present between adjacent cells. These junctions allow ions to move in both directions and are a route of communication of impulses from one cell to another. As a result of the presence of gap junctions, transmission of impulses is faster than in chemical synapses.

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