Most excitatory synapses use the neurotransmitter L-glutamate, which activates specific receptor channels in the postsynaptic membrane. Molecularly and functionally different glutamate-activated ...

Released glutamate traverses this space by passive diffusion, and because its target glutamate receptors in the postsynaptic neuron are heavily enriched in specialized membrane structures that are ...

This results in enough neurotransmitter being diffused across the synaptic cleft to trigger the impulse in the postsynaptic neuron. This process is called summation.

Between impulses the transmitter molecules are rapidly removed from the synaptic cleft to prevent continuous stimulation of postsynaptic neurons. There are two types of removal: Re-uptake – the ...