Generally speaking, it’s just another way to say neurotransmission. If each neuron is home to hundreds or even thousands of synapses, the estimated number of these communication points must be in the trillions.Ĭurrent estimates are listed somewhere around 0.15 quadrillion synapses-or 150,000,000,000,000 synapses. But current post-mortem studies, where scientists examine the brains of deceased individuals, suggest that the average male human brain contains about 86 billion neurons. It’s very hard to measure in living human beings. The short answer is that neuroscientists aren’t exactly sure. More than 3,000 synapses would fit in that space alone! How many synapses are in the human brain? If you consider that the thickness of a single sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers wide, you can start to understand just how small these functional contact points between neurons really are. When measured using sophisticated tools, scientists can see that the small gaps between cells is approximately 20-40 nanometers wide. Synapses are tiny-you cannot see them with the naked eye. In fact, one type of neuron called the Purkinje cell, found in the brain’s cerebellum, may have as many as one hundred thousand synapses. A single neuron may contain thousands of synapses. The synapse, rather, is that small pocket of space between two cells, where they can pass messages to communicate. This might make you think that a synapse is where brain cells touch or fasten together, but that isn’t quite right. The word synapse stems from the Greek words “syn” (together) and “haptein” (to clasp). Neuroscientists now understand that the synapse plays a critical role in a variety of cognitive processes-especially those involved with learning and memory. And the bulk of those communications occur at a site called the synapse. Simply stated, neurotransmission is the way that brain cells communicate. They do so through a process called neurotransmission. But how do the billions of cells that reside in the brain manage these feats? The brain is responsible for every thought, feeling, and action.
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