The Neurobiology of Drug Addiction

Explain the normal direction of the flow of information (electrical and chemical). An electrical impulse (the action potential) travels down the axon toward the terminal. Point to the terminal. The terminal makes a connection with the dendrite of neighboring neuron, where it passes on chemical information. The area of connection is called the synapse. Although the synapse between a terminal and a dendrite (shown here) is quite typical, other types of synapses exist as well. For example, a synapse can occur between a terminal and a soma or axon.