Hormonal Communication and Synapses
Uploaded by
Nirav PandeyHormonal Communication and Synapses
Uploaded by
Nirav PandeyHormonal Communication and
By Nirav Pandey
Synapses
Outline
• This presentation is divided into two
sections.
• Section I delves into the intricacies of
hormonal communication, hormones and the
glandular system.
• Section II addresses the de nition of
synapses, explains the synaptic transmission
pathway and describes the role of synapses.
* Any content that falls beyond the reach of our
course is labelled as Extra
The largest network of neural connections ever mapped.
450 μm × 450 μm
Harvard Medical School.
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Section I
What are Hormones?
Hormones are chemicals secreted by
endocrine glands that are carried in blood
plasma to target organs in another part of the
body, where they have a physiological e ect
They are involved in cell signalling and alter
the activity of one or more target organs.
Hormones are mainly classi ed into;
• Amino Acid Derivatives
• Protein Derivatives
• Fatty Acid Derivatives
The Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
• Steroid Derivatives α-FSH and β-FSH chains
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Ex
tra
Types of Hormones
• Amino Acid Derivatives
Hormones like Melatonin, that respond to darkness are
simple derivatives of amino acids like Tryptophan.
Tryptophan (Amino Acid) Melatonin
• Protein Derivatives
They include
a) Small Peptide Hormones like Insulin and
b) Glycoprotein Hormones like the Thyroid Stimulating Insulin Thyroid Stimulating
Hormone Hormone
Ex
tra
Types of Hormones (contd.)
• Fatty Acid Derivatives
Include hormones like Prostaglandins. Notice the
aliphatic chain and the carboxyl group in the skeletal
formula of Prostaglandins here.
Prostaglandins
• Steroid Derivatives
Steroids are characterized by the presence of 17 Carbon
atoms and 4 rings. They are lipid soluble and can ass
through the phospholipid bilayer.
Derivatives include chemicals like Testosterone and
Testosterone Cortisol
Cortisol.
Fig. Examples of Steroids
The Endocrine System
• Endocrine glands are organs that secrete
hormones directly into the blood stream
and enable them to act on a distant target
organ.
• They can alter the activity of other distant
organs called target organs with hormones.
• Hormonal responses use chemicals and are
much slower compared to re ex action,
which uses electrical impulses.
• The Endocrine System is a body system
consisting of all endocrine glands in the
body and the hormones that they secrete.
Networks of blood capillaries can supply the hormones throughout the
body. However, they may only affect speci c target organs.
University of Maryland School of Medicine.
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The Endocrine System Locations of the ductless glands
Section II
What are Synapses?
• When two neurons meet, they are not
touch each other.
• Instead, there is a small gap between
them called the synaptic cleft.
• The synaptic cleft is only 20 nm wide.
• The point where neurons meet is called
the synapse. It includes the ends of the
presynaptic and post synaptic neurons,
as well as the synaptic cleft
Fig. A representation of two neurons meeting
Neurotransmitters
• Since impulses cannot jump from one
neuron to another, chemicals called
neurotransmitters are released to
transmit impulses between them.
Serotonin
• Examples of neurotransmitters include
noradrenaline, acetylcholine (ACh),
serotonin and dopamine are found
throughout the body.
• Synapses using the ACh
neurotransmitter are called cholinergic
synapses.
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Diagram of a
Synapse
Synaptic Transmission
1. Arrival of the action potential.
2. There is a depolarisation of the synaptic terminal
that stimulates the opening of voltage-gated
calcium ion channel proteins. Ca+ ions di use
inside the presynaptic neuron from the external
tissue uid.
3. The entry of Ca+ ions stimulates the vesicles
containing ACh to move towards the presynaptic
membrane.
4. The vesicle empties its content in the synaptic
cleft. The attachment is facilitated by SNAP Each vesicle contains 10,000 molecules of acetylcholine.
receptor proteins in the presynaptic membrane. Each action potential causes a few vesicles to do this (around 130).
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Synaptic Transmission
5. The ACh di uses across the synaptic cleft in less
than 0.5 ms.
6. The cell surface membrane of the postsynaptic
neuron contains receptor proteins that are
complementary to the shape of ACh. The ACh bind to
acetylcholinesterase
the receptor proteins.
acetylcholine acetate + choline
7. The shape of the receptor protein changes and 10. Choline is taken back into the presynaptic neuron.
opens channels that allow Na+ ions to travel down the It reacts with acetyl coenzyme A to form ACh again.
electrochemical gradient to the postsynaptic
membrane.
This sequence of events (1-10) takes place under 10
ms.
8. The membrane is depolarised.
If the depolarization of the postsynaptic neuron is
9. Acetylcholinesterase hydrolyses the ACh (diagram above a threshold, it causes an action potential in the
shown) next neuron.
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The Role of Synapses
• They ensure one-way transmission as the
neurotransmitter is release on one side, and
the receptors are on the other side.
• They allow the interconnection of many
nerve pathways in two general ways;
A. The axons of sensory and relay neurons
are branched and are connected with
multiple neurons. This can reach multiple
e ectors.
B. Many neurons can terminate into relay and
motor neurons that have many dendrites.
This allows a single neuron to process
information from di erent parts of the
body. The branched morphology of neurons highlighting interconnectivity of
dendrites and axons.
Yale University
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Past
Questions
Thank You! Presentation by Nirav
