ALPHABETICAL BRAIN VOCABULARY SYNAPSES DEMO #3d FACTUAL DETAILS WHAT ARE YOUR "SYNAPSES" AND WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT? Your trillions of SYNAPSES connect your 100 billion Neurons and they relay electrical impulses or charges throughout your nervous system. They use an electrochemical process known as "potentiation" (Long-Term Potentiation), which involves the exchange of "ions" from the "synaptic knob" through the "synaptic cleft" (which is a space or opening) into the "dendritic membranes" of the connecting neurons. Potentiation allows electrical impulses or "electrical charges" to flow up or down your spine in separate Neuron Pathways inside Nerve Tracts ("cables") in your brain and brainstem, but only in one direction! Ions are atoms or groups of atoms that have acquired a net electrical charge by gaining or losing one or more electrons. Functionally, they operate like "switches" in order to connect all of your sense organs and your muscles and your internal organs so that you can think and feel and be aware of all the parts of your body! Go to: FACT CHECKER Return to brain flash card #3d: SYNAPSES DEMO or LIST OF BRAIN FLASH CARDS