Electrical synapses

Electrical synapses are primarily present in your retina and certain parts of your brain, such as the thalamic reticular nucleus, the neocortex, or the hippocampus. In this case of synapses, the current flow is direct from one cell to another. In contrast to chemical synapses, the electrical synapses are in direct contact between presynaptic and postsynaptic cells. The connection between both cells forms a channel called a gap junction. This allows the current flow of ions directly from one cell to another. This allows:

• Quicker response

• A two-way flow of the current

• Depolarization of presynaptic neuron

However, electrical synapses lack versatilitysince they cannot change an excitatory signal into an inhibitory one.

Figure 1: Electrical and Chemical synapses