Editing Electrical synapse (section)

==Effects==
They are found in many [[Gap junction#Occurrence and distribution|regions]] in animal and human body. The simplicity of electrical synapses results in synapses that are fast, but more importantly the bidirectional coupling can produce very complex behaviors at the network level.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rydin Gorjão |first=Leonardo |last2=Saha |first2=Arindam |last3=Ansmann |first3=Gerrit |last4=Feudel |first4=Ulrike |last5=Lehnertz |first5=Klaus |date=2018-10-01 |title=Complexity and irreducibility of dynamics on networks of networks |url=https://pubs.aip.org/aip/cha/article-abstract/28/10/106306/1051711/Complexity-and-irreducibility-of-dynamics-on?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science |volume=28 |issue=10 |doi=10.1063/1.5039483 |issn=1054-1500|arxiv=1808.00305 }}</ref>
*Without the need for receptors to recognize chemical messengers, signal transmission at electrical synapses is more rapid than that which occurs across chemical synapses, the predominant kind of junctions between neurons.  Chemical transmission exhibits synaptic delay—recordings from squid synapses and neuromuscular junctions of the frog reveal a delay of 0.5 to 4.0 milliseconds—whereas electrical transmission takes place with almost no delay.  However, the difference in speed between chemical and electrical synapses is not as marked in mammals as it is in cold-blooded animals.<ref name=Bennet04/>
*Because electrical synapses do not involve neurotransmitters, electrical neurotransmission is less modifiable than chemical neurotransmission.
*The response always has the same sign as the source. For example, [[depolarization]] of the pre-synaptic membrane will always induce a depolarization in the post-synaptic membrane, and vice versa for [[Hyperpolarization (biology)|hyperpolarization]].
*The response in the postsynaptic neuron is in general smaller in amplitude than the source. The amount of attenuation of the signal is due to the membrane [[Electrical resistance and conductance|resistance]] of the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons.
*Long-term changes can be seen in electrical synapses.  For example, changes in electrical synapses in the [[retina]] are seen during light and dark adaptations of the retina.<ref>[https://med.uth.edu/ibp/faculty/john-obrien/ Dr. John O'Brien || Faculty Biography || The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The relative speed of electrical synapses also allows for many neurons to fire synchronously.<ref name=Gibson05/><ref name=Bennet04/><ref name=Kandel00_180>{{harvnb|Kandel|Schwartz|Jessell|2000|p=180}}</ref> Because of the speed of transmission, electrical synapses are found in escape mechanisms and other processes that require quick responses, such as the response to danger of the [[sea hare]] ''[[Aplysia]]'', which quickly releases large quantities of ink to obscure enemies' vision.<ref name=Kandel00/>

Normally, current carried by ions could travel in either direction through this type of synapse.<ref name=Hormuzdi04/> However, sometimes the junctions are [[rectifying synapse]]s,<ref name=Hormuzdi04/> containing [[voltage-gated ion channel]]s that open in response to [[depolarization]] of an axon's plasma membrane, and prevent current from traveling in one of the two directions.<ref name=Kandel00_180/>  Some channels may also close in response to increased [[calcium in biology|calcium]] ({{chem|Ca|2+}}) or [[hydrogen]] ({{chem|H|+}}) ion concentration, so as not to spread damage from one cell to another.<ref name=Kandel00_180/>

There is also evidence of [[synaptic plasticity]] where the electrical connection established can either be strengthened or weakened as a result of activity, or during changes in the intracellular concentration of magnesium.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Palacios-Prado | first1 = Nicolas | display-authors = etal  | date = Mar 2013 | title = Intracellular magnesium-dependent modulation of gap junction channels formed by neuronal connexin36 | journal = Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 33 | issue = 11| pages = 4741–53 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2825-12.2013 | pmid = 23486946 | pmc = 3635812}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Activity-Dependent | last2 = Synapses | first2 = Electrical | last3 = Haas | first3 = Julie S. | display-authors = etal  | year = 2011 | title =  Activity-dependent long-term depression of electrical synapses| journal = Science | volume = 334 | issue = 6054| pages = 389–93 | doi = 10.1126/science.1207502 | pmid=22021860| bibcode = 2011Sci...334..389H | s2cid = 35398480 | pmc = 10921920 }}</ref>

Electrical synapses are present throughout the [[central nervous system]] and have been studied specifically in the [[neocortex]], [[hippocampus]], [[thalamic reticular nucleus]], [[locus coeruleus]], [[inferior olivary nucleus]], [[mesencephalic nucleus of the trigeminal nerve]], [[olfactory bulb]], [[retina]], and [[spinal cord]] of [[vertebrate]]s.<ref>Electrical synapses in the mammalian brain, Connors & Long, "Annu Rev Neurosci" 2004;27:393-418</ref> Other examples of functional gap junctions detected ''in vivo'' are in the [[striatum]], [[cerebellum]], and [[suprachiasmatic nucleus]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eugenin|first1=Eliseo A.|last2=Basilio|first2=Daniel|last3=Sáez|first3=Juan C.|last4=Orellana|first4=Juan A.|last5=Raine|first5=Cedric S.|last6=Bukauskas|first6=Feliksas|last7=Bennett|first7=Michael V. L.|last8=Berman|first8=Joan W.|date=2012-09-01|title=The role of gap junction channels during physiologic and pathologic conditions of the human central nervous system|journal=Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology|volume=7|issue=3|pages=499–518|doi=10.1007/s11481-012-9352-5|issn=1557-1904|pmc=3638201|pmid=22438035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pereda|first1=Alberto E.|last2=Curti|first2=Sebastian|last3=Hoge|first3=Gregory|last4=Cachope|first4=Roger|last5=Flores|first5=Carmen E.|last6=Rash|first6=John E.|date=2013-01-01|title=Gap junction-mediated electrical transmission: regulatory mechanisms and plasticity|journal=Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes|volume=1828|issue=1|pages=134–146|doi=10.1016/j.bbamem.2012.05.026|issn=0006-3002|pmc=3437247|pmid=22659675}}</ref>