calcium channel

a voltage-gated ion channel in the presynaptic membrane of a neuron that is involved in the release of neurotransmitter (and, therefore, passage of a neural signal) at a synapse. The arrival of an action potential at the terminal buttons (see axon) of the neuron is accompanied by depolarization of the presynaptic membrane, which results in opening of the calcium channels and influx of calcium ions into the terminal buttons. This triggers fusion of the synaptic vesicles (which contain neurotransmitter) with the presynaptic membrane and the release of neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

inferential statistics

a broad class of statistical techniques that allow inferences about characteristics of a population to be drawn from a sample of data from that population while controlling (at least partially) the extent to which errors of inference may be made. These techniques include approaches for testing hypotheses, estimating the value of parameters, and selecting among a set of competing models. Also called inductive statistics. Compare descriptive statistics.