| Term: | Mauthner neuron synapse |
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| Note: | This page represents a term created by the combination ("post-composition") of two ontology terms. For more information on the individual terms, click the hyperlinked name. |
| Name: | Mauthner neuron |
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| Synonyms: | |
| Definition: | Is a hindbrain interneuron. Giant reticulospinal neurons possessing thick crossed axons and positioned dorsally in the hindbrain tegmentum at the level of entrance of the eighth cranial nerve. The Mauthner neuron is paired. The M-cell has two large invariant dendrites: The lateral dendrite terminates in the sensory neuropil of the acoustico-lateral area, and the ventral dendrite terminates in the neuropil of the motor tegmentum. Fine dendrites are present, and mostly arise from three regions; from the terminus of each major dendrite and from the ventral surface of the perikaryon. |
| Ontology: | Anatomy Ontology [ZFA:0009149] |
| Name: | synapse |
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| Synonyms: | electrotonic synapse, mixed synapse, synaptic junction |
| Definition: | The junction between an axon of one neuron and a dendrite of another neuron, a muscle fiber or a glial cell. As the axon approaches the synapse it enlarges into a specialized structure, the presynaptic terminal bouton, which contains mitochondria and synaptic vesicles. At the tip of the terminal bouton is the presynaptic membrane; facing it, and separated from it by a minute cleft (the synaptic cleft) is a specialized area of membrane on the receiving cell, known as the postsynaptic membrane. In response to the arrival of nerve impulses, the presynaptic terminal bouton secretes molecules of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. These diffuse across the cleft and transmit the signal to the postsynaptic membrane. |
| Ontology: | GO: Cellular Component [GO:0045202] QuickGO AmiGO |