The passing of information received from an action potential through the synapse. It occurs in the following steps:

• Exocytosis of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles occurs as the incoming action potential depolarizes the presynaptic membrane, leading to a rush of Ca 2+ entering the terminal
• As a result of exocytosis, transmitters are released into the synaptic cleft and bind with receptor molecules in the postsynaptic membrane
• These bindings cause ion channels in the postsynaptic membrane to open, creating a local EPSP or IPSP in the postsynaptic neuron
• The effects of the released transmitters are halted through either degradation or reuptake
• Some transmitters bind to autoreceptors, which further regulates the release of transmitters