Question

Describe how an impulse is transmitted across the synapse.

Answer 1

When the nerve impulse reaches the dendrites at the end of the axon, chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are released. These chemicals diffuse across the synapse (the gap between the two neurons).
The signal therefore has been carried from one neuron to the next.

Answer 2

A nervous impulse is transmitted across the synapse from a pre-synaptic neuron to a post-synaptic neuron through the use of neurotransmitter diffusion. This changes the voltage in the neuron causing the voltage-gated calcium channels on the pre-synaptic neuron to open.