Editing Electrical synapse (section)

{{short description|Type of connection between neurons}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name        = Electrical synapse
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| Image       = Gap_cell_junction-en.svg
| Caption     = Diagram of a gap junction
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| System      =
| Artery      =
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| Nerve       =
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An '''electrical synapse''', or '''gap junction''', is a mechanical and electrically [[conductor (material)|conductive]] [[synapse]], a functional junction between two neighboring [[neuron]]s. The synapse is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons known as a [[gap junction]].  At gap junctions, such cells approach within about 3.8&nbsp;nm of each other,<ref name=Kandel00>{{cite book |last1=Kandel |first1=ER |last2=Schwartz |first2=JH |last3=Jessell |first3=TM |title=Principles of Neural Science |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8385-7701-1 |edition=4th |author-link=Eric R. Kandel|title-link=Principles of Neural Science }}</ref> a much shorter distance than the 20- to 40-nanometer distance that separates cells at a [[chemical synapse]].<ref name=Hormuzdi04>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hormuzdi SG, Filippov MA, Mitropoulou G, Monyer H, Bruzzone R |title=Electrical synapses: a dynamic signaling system that shapes the activity of neuronal networks |journal=Biochim. Biophys. Acta |volume=1662 |issue=1–2 |pages=113–37 |date=March 2004 |pmid=15033583 |doi=10.1016/j.bbamem.2003.10.023 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In many{{specify|date=September 2024}} [[animal]]s, electrical synapse-based systems co-exist with chemical synapses.

Compared to chemical synapses, electrical synapses conduct [[nerve impulse]]s faster and provide continuous-time bidirectional coupling via linked cytoplasm.<ref name="Kandel00" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Neuroscience |date=2004 |publisher=Sinauer Associates |isbn=978-0-87893-915-2 |editor-last=Purves |editor-first=Dale |edition=3rd |location=Sunderland, Mass |editor-last2=Williams |editor-first2=Stephen Mark}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=M. V. L. |date=1966 |title=PHYSIOLOGY OF ELECTROTONIC JUNCTIONS* |url=https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb50178.x |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=137 |issue=2 |pages=509–539 |doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb50178.x |issn=0077-8923|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Connors |first=Barry W. |last2=Long |first2=Michael A. |date=2004-07-21 |title=ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES IN THE MAMMALIAN BRAIN |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.neuro.26.041002.131128 |journal=Annual Review of Neuroscience |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=393–418 |doi=10.1146/annurev.neuro.26.041002.131128 |issn=0147-006X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As such, the notion of signal directionality across these synapses is not always defined.<ref name=":0" /> They are known to produce synchronization of network activity in the brain<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=Michael V.L |last2=Zukin |first2=R.Suzanne |date=2004 |title=Electrical Coupling and Neuronal Synchronization in the Mammalian Brain |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0896627304000431 |journal=Neuron |language=en |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=495–511 |doi=10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00043-1}}</ref> and can create chaotic network level dynamics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Makarenko |first=Vladimir |last2=Llinás |first2=Rodolfo |date=1998-12-22 |title=Experimentally determined chaotic phase synchronization in a neuronal system |url=https://pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.95.26.15747 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=95 |issue=26 |pages=15747–15752 |doi=10.1073/pnas.95.26.15747 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=28115 |pmid=9861041}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Korn |first=Henri |last2=Faure |first2=Philippe |date=2003-09-01 |title=Is there chaos in the brain? II. Experimental evidence and related models |url=https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/10.1016/j.crvi.2003.09.011/ |journal=Comptes Rendus. Biologies |language=en |volume=326 |issue=9 |pages=787–840 |doi=10.1016/j.crvi.2003.09.011 |issn=1768-3238}}</ref> In situations where a signal direction can be defined, they lack [[Gain (electronics)|gain]] (unlike chemical synapses)—the signal in the postsynaptic neuron is the same or smaller than that of the originating neuron.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} The fundamental bases for perceiving electrical synapses comes down to the [[connexons]] that are located in the gap junction between two neurons. Electrical synapses are often found in neural systems that require the fastest possible response, such as defensive reflexes. An important characteristic of electrical synapses is that they are mostly bidirectional, allowing impulse transmission in either direction.<ref name="Purves">{{cite book | author = Purves, Dale | author2 = George J. Augustine | author3 = David Fitzpatrick | author4 = William C. Hall | author5 = Anthony-Samuel LaMantia | author6 = James O. McNamara | author7 = Leonard E. White | name-list-style = amp | title = Neuroscience | edition = 4th | publisher = Sinauer Associates | pages = 85–88 | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-87893-697-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Purves, Dale | author2 = George J. Augustine | author3 = David Fitzpatrick | author4 = William C. Hall | author5 = Anthony-Samuel LaMantia | author6 = Richard D. Mooney | author7 = Leonard E. White | author8 = Michael L. Platt | name-list-style = amp | title = Neuroscience | edition = 6th | publisher = Oxford University Press | pages = 86–87 | year = 2018 | isbn = 978-1605353807}}</ref>