How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

by Lisa Feldman Barrett

The axon terminals of one neuron are close to the dendrites of other neurons—usually thousands—forming connections called synapses. A neuron “fires” by sending an electrical signal down its axon to its axon terminals, which release chemicals called neurotransmitters into the synapses, where they are picked up by receptors on the dendrites of other neurons. The neurotransmitters excite or inhibit each neuron on the other end of a synapse, changing its rate of firing. Through this process, one individual neuron influences thousands of others, and thousands of neurons can influence one, all simultaneously. This is the brain in action.