A chemical molecule produced and released by a neuron which enables messages to be transmitted by attaching itself to other cells.
These molecules are released in the space between 2 neurons or between a neuron and a muscle (the synapse) and are captured by receptors anchored on the membrane of the dendrites of another neuron or on the muscle fibre.
Neurotransmitters, known as "messengers", transmit electrical information from one neuron to another or to a muscle.
- Neuron :
- Basic cell of the nervous tissue, capable of receiving, analysing, reproducing and transmitting information in the form of an electrical or chemical signal.