Released from a neuron, or nerve cell, a neurotransmitter such as dopamine “floats” across the synaptic space and attaches to receptors on a second neuron. Having carried its message to the target nerve cell, the molecule then falls back into the synaptic cleft, and from there it is taken back up into the originating neuron for later reuse—hence the term reuptake. The greater the reuptake, the less neurotransmitter remains active between the neurons.
