Excitatory synapses are located in confined chemical spaces called the dendritic spines. These are atypical femtoliter-order microdomains where the behavior of even single molecules may have ...

When naive T cells encounter antigen-presenting cells (APCs), membrane and cytoplasmic molecules rearrange at the T cell–APC contact area to form the immune synapse. Finetti et al. now reveal an ...

An electrical impulse cannot directly cross the gap so a different mechanism has to be used. Between impulses the transmitter molecules are rapidly removed from the synaptic cleft to prevent ...

However, a series of weak stimuli can combine, increasing the amount of neurotransmitter that is released. This results in enough neurotransmitter being diffused across the synaptic cleft to ...