The Synapse and Neurotransmission Cells of the Central Nervous System and Communication 5. The Synapse and Neurotransmission Messages are passed from neuron to neuron through synapses, using chemicals called neurotransmitters.
Synapses are very small gaps between neurons.
Once there, the neurotransmitter causes a new action potential to be formed, and the process begins again to carry the message to its destination. Amazingly, a single axon can form synapses with as many as 1,000 other neurons. Each area of the body sends and receives specialized input and connections via the neuronal axons running to and from it. The action potential messages carried by these connections are the 'traffic' on the spinal cord highway, running to and from the brain. There are millions and millions of connections between neurons within the spinal cord alone.