Mediator Brake

Modern ideas about the interaction of nerve cells are directly or indirectly related to the discovery of the mechanisms of intercellular contacts responsible for the transmission of excitation. There are two main types of contacts in neuronal networks - electrical, formed between the membranes of different neurons or between the axon and dendrite of one neuron, and chemical, or synaptic contacts, connecting the dendrite of one cell to the axon of another cell and ensuring the transfer of excitation from one neuron to another using specific substances - mediators. The first contacts are involved in the integration of excitation in space (due to the ability of the chains of nerve cells they form to form cellular complexes in which activation of up to 20 thousand neurons is possible), the second - in the integration in time of impulse transmission when the strength of the stimulus changes (due to a decrease in the excitability of the postsynaptic neuron) .

Until now, the main transmitter of excitation is acetylcholine. However, for inhibitory neurotransmitter systems, this significance turned out to be not the only role of the neurotransmitter. Among chemical media

Inhibitory mediator (lat. mediator - intermediary) - specific chemical substances that can enhance the process of inhibition in neuromuscular junctions or in the central nervous system, making it longer and more effective.

Inhibitory transmitters can affect various types of synapses: GABA, glycine, some neurokinins and others. As a rule, inhibitory transmitters are specific to each type of synapse. Thus, inhibitory interneurons - glycine, GABA-A receptors and cationic ones - are characterized by the release of glycine and GABA, respectively.

Inhibitory neurotransmitters