Synapses are the communicating cell-cell junctions that allow signals to pass from a nerve cell to a target cell. In a chemical synapse, the signal is carried by a neurotransmitter which diffuses across a narrow synaptic cleft and activates a receptor on the postsynaptic membrane of the target cell. The target may be a dendrite, cell body, neuronal axon, a specialized region of a muscle or a secretory cell. In an electrical synapse, a direct connection is made between the cytoplasms of two cells via gap junctions.

› Cellular component

› Synapse

› synapse [ GO:0045202 ]