BharatNotes Synapse
noun; also verb (intransitive, in cytology/genetics)Usage in a UPSC answer
Effective governance in a federal polity depends less on the strength of individual institutions than on the synapses between them - the channels through which the Centre, the States and local bodies transmit information and coordinate action.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
synapse (v), synapses (n pl), synaptic (adj), synaptically (adv), synapsing (v pres.p)
Root
Greek sun- = together; haptein = to clasp, fasten; sunapsis = conjunction
Etymology
From Greek sunapsis ("conjunction"), from sun- ("together") + haptein ("to clasp, fasten"); introduced into neuroscience by Charles Sherrington in 1897.
Memory Hook
"Syn-" (together) + "-apse" sounds like a clasp - the synapse is where two nerve cells are clasped together to pass a signal across the gap.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
The junction across which a nerve impulse passes from one neuron to the next, or to a muscle or gland. The mechanism worth stating is the conversion: the electrical signal arriving at the terminal triggers release of a chemical neurotransmitter across the gap, which then regenerates an electrical signal in the receiving cell. That electrical-to-chemical-to-electrical step is why synapses are the point at which most drugs and many toxins act.
Don’t Confuse It With
A synapse is the junction between neurons. A neuron is the cell itself. A neurotransmitter is the chemical messenger released across the gap. The synaptic cleft is the gap, and an axon is the fibre carrying the impulse to the terminal.
Hindi Meaning
तंत्रिका संधि (tantrikā sandhi) or सिनैप्स.
Common Questions
- What is a synapse?
- The junction at which a nerve impulse passes from one neuron to another cell, usually by means of a chemical neurotransmitter.
- Why are synapses important pharmacologically?
- Because transmission there depends on chemical messengers, synapses are the point at which most drugs affecting the nervous system, and many toxins, exert their effect.
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