Synapse: coining of the term and concept
Sinapsis: acuñación del término y el concepto
- Date
- 1897 · confidence high
- Place
- University College Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Charles Scott Sherrington; term suggested by classicist Arthur Woollgar Verrall
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
Needing a name for the functional, non-continuous connection between two neurons, Sherrington adopted Verrall's suggestion and coined 'synapse' in Michael Foster's physiology textbook, naming the basic unit of communication in the nervous system.
The physical existence of the synaptic gap was not confirmed until electron microscopy in the 1950s.
What it led to
- Consolidation of the neuron doctrine over reticular theory
- Neurophysiology of synaptic transmission
- Conceptual framework for the discovery of chemical neurotransmitters
Built on
Made possible
- Excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (Eccles)1951-1953
- Synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation1949-1973
- Neurotransmitters and their pharmacology