Find-your-own animation: Synaptic Transmission
Find an online animation for synaptic transmission. Talk about why it was good or bad. Give the URL. Make sure it is different from the comments above.
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47 comments:
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/synaptictransmission.html
This is a great website source that gives a detailed and narrated process of the synaptic transmission,.
It has a step by step explanations that thoroughly guide you through each step and the procedures, just like the animation that we watched in class this is a very informative animation to watch as we study for the sypnatic transmission.
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp44/4402003.html
- this another resources give you more of textbook style of explanations of the transmission procedures. it will help for us to understand more specific steps of the procedure.
http://outreach.mcb.harvard.edu/animations/synaptic.swf
The animation I chose can be found after clicking the synaptic transmission button in the upper left hand corner.
This animation was okay. I did not like the fact that you could not go back and forth; if you wanted to look at something again you had to start the animation all over again. I also did not like how the synaptic vesicles blended in with the presynaptic membrane. This made it hard to understand that the vesicles actually bind with a docking protein so that the neurotransmitters can be released into the synaptic cleft.
http://www.michaelmarkham.net/teaching/st_animation/st_stills.htm
This is not as clear as a lot more animations but it does do a good job at explaining It enlarges each section. And I like how it is all on the same page. But it does not go into great detail about each section because it does not get into detail about calcium pumps. It is 6 slides and it is kind of simple wording. It is not the best animation but it does summarize the process well!
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp44/4402003.html
This synaptic transmission animation does a good job explaining about the synaptic transmission. The introduction section of this website well explains the basis of the synaptic transmission. Also, the narrated version of an animation guides us step by step similar to the animation that we watched in class.
From this animation, we can understand better about the Ach receptors and the resynthesis process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZscXOvDgCmQ
I like this one because it starts out with the overall picture and then breaks it down and shows the details of each of the steps and how they influence the next step. Also, the detail looks really good.
There may have been sound, but I didn't have any headphones.
http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~mcdougal/neurobehavior/modules_homework/animation3.html
The animation in this website starts from action potential of the axon to the synaptic transmission. It also provides the electrodes and presents the process in the oscilloscope.
It helps greatly when we want to see the process from the axon to the axon terminal and the synapse. The process can get overwhelming with the bright colors moving around in the animation. Nonetheless, a good animation with decent explanations during the process.
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/index_tj.asp?objid=AP1201
This is a good animation of Synaptic Transmission because it provides a step by sep illustration and the movements involved during each step. Because it does take you from step to step it is easier to understand the process of Synaptic Transmission. Not only is there illustration and animation involved, there is also a description of what is happening.
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/matthews/nmj.html
This online animation shows the synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction. I think this is a great animation because it shows from step one the action potential coming down the presynaptic neuron to the muscle. This animation features the release the neurotransmitters and opening of ligand gated Na+ channels.
The only flaw this animation has is that it lacks a lot of labeling that could be very helpful to our better understanding of the neuromuscular junction. This animation did not specify whether what we are seeing are ACh or Ca2+ or other neurotransmitters. Also the animation ends as soon as Na+ enters the muscle.
http://intro.bio.umb.edu/111-112/112s99Lect/neuro_anims/s_t_anim/WW43.htm
I found this Synaptic Transmission Animation. However, I didnt find it as helpful as the one Professor Williams showed in class which was this one,
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter14/animation__transmission_across_a_synapse.html
because the one I found was not as detailed. Also the one I found went by too fast for someone who had no idea to grasp the concept.
http://www.accessmedicine.com/search/searchAMResultImg.aspx?rootterm=synaptic+transmission&rootID=29719&searchType=1
This is a great animation of the GABA synaptic transmission. It is a very good website because on the bottom of the animation it tells you what is going on while the animation is happening
http://www.bishopstopford.com/faculties/science/arthur/synapse.swf
This site gives a pretty in-depth explanation of the synaptic transmission process. All the materials are labeled correctly and the process is explained during the animation. However, the items on the animation are not labeled during the animation causing perhaps some slight confusion. Also, unlike the slide during class, this animation cannot be rewinded. Instead, a student has to start from the beginning to examine a certain part of the animation. The slide does not also go into further detail after the sodium enters the next nerve.
http://www.bayareapainmedical.com/neurtrns.html
This is a very simplistic animation of the synaptic transmission. There is a brief explanation of the process. The cartoon type of the animation does not do justice to being a very informative animation to watch. There is no audio to the animation which limits its usefulness.
http://www.edumedia-sciences.com/a497_l2-synaptic-transmission.html
I really like this animation in the way how every small step is presented clearly with a corresponding text description on the top left corner of the animation. Not only so, color and the level of detail is also superior to many of other animations I've seen before. It clearly guides the views and guides them through what happens when (i.e. which channel opens, what flows through etc.)
I also like how it has a little summary and important facts views should know / learn from the animation in the "learning objectives" below the animation.
The only thing I don't like about is that it is kind of like a demo version in the sense that it limits to the duration you can view the animation. I had to refresh many times and move the time bar in order to finish watching the whole animation.
http://www.thirteen.org/closetohome/science/html/animations.html
This is an interesting website looking at the synaptic transmission of dopamine and GABA neurotransmission along with the actions of various addictive substances such as alcohol, opiates and cocaine. I found this particular site looking at neurotransmission in the brain as opposed to the individual neuron. It does offer a different viewpoint of how drugs influence neurotransmission in humans.
http://home.mesastate.edu/~kford/
animations/Biopsychology/Synaptic_
Transmission/synaptic_transmission.
html
This animation was not great but not bad also. It provides a detailed explanation at the top of the page, but the video itself has no sound and no labeling. It is useful to see the process happening; however, reading the top portion and trying to keep up with the video tends to be a bit confusing. It shows the neurotransmitter and how it is expelled from the cell and it follows that till the action potential. Overall its an informational video that can be used alongside other detailed video to help understand the concept of synaptic transmission.
Animation here
this is a great animation that shows all of the different parts of synaptic transmission. it even includes a quiz and introduction. The animation shows all the different steps piece by piece, which is helpful if the process is confusing.
http://www.mind.ilstu.edu/flash/synapse_1.swf
This animation is good because it's thorough in its explanation of the different terms used in the animation, and it allows you to view each step at your own pace. There is also a narrative text at the bottom of the animation that explains what's going on in the tutorial.
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_01/i_01_m/i_01_m_fon/i_01_m_fon.html
This website has a step by step animation of synaptic transmission on the bottom of the page. They offer you 4 steps, and as you click on each step a paragraph clearly explains what is going on in the animation at that time. I think that this is a good animation, because it labels each part of the neuron and you can control the pace as well as going back and forth for clarification.
http://entochem.tamu.edu/neurobiology/index.html
(Note: there is a box in the animation -> go to scene selection and pick "Information Coding and Transfer at the Synapse")
I really like this animation because it labeled all the different parts of the cell and nerve as well as clearly show what did what. Seeing this gave me a better idea of what the Calcium ions did in the nerve, and a basic overview of what happens to the ACh.
However, I found this video to generalize a bit too much. First, I wish it showed the Voltage-gated Calcium channels. More importantly, I noticed that it made the Acetyl-cholinesterase serve BOTH as a receptor of ACh and thing that breaks ACh down, which is highly inaccurate (since there is a specific Ligand-gated ion channel which they failed to show).
Overall, this was a good general animation, but very poor in terms of specfics.
http://www.uky.edu/Pharmacy/faculty/paulyanimation/Version%206a.swf
The animation I found shows the neuron and thus gives us idea where the synaptic transmission takes place. I can also understand different part of neurons since it has different pictures and explanation of it.
The animation shows the synaptic transmission takes place at the synapse.The animation is not very good because it has different color and shapes for different things, which is unclear and I am confused for what happen during the transmission. If it has label for different items and explanation for each steps in the transmission, it will be easier to understand.
http://science-education.nih.gov/supplements/nih2/addiction/activities/lesson2_neurotransmission.htm
This video gives you the very basic idea concepts related to action potentials and their pathway from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron. It does not provide information about the molecules (such as Calcium) transport of neurotransmitters. Nor does it refer to the specific channels that are located in each neuron which carry the action potential. It also doesn't refer to specific neurotransmitters like ACh.
This is a great animation describing the actual synaptic transmission, starting with an action potential and going through all od the following steps. Although the video is titled "Action potential" it actually goes on to decribe the rest of the steps after the action potential travels through the muscle cell. It's very detailed and quite helpful. The narrator talks smoothly and not to fast so it is easy to understand. This is different than the previous youtube link provided.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70DyJwwFnkU&feature=related
http://www.sinauer.com/cogneuro/animations.html
After you enter that link, you have to scroll down to "Appendix" and then click "Animation A.5: Synaptic Transmission. I like this animation because it allows you to choose whether you want to just watch it step by step or have it narrated. If you click "Narrated", it will help you better understand what happens. This animation is helpful because it is clear and does not drag on too long. It helps clarify what the steps are during synaptic transmission.
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Synaptic/info/glutamate.html
(if you click the word "animation" it will lead to a larger animation than the one directly on the first page of the link.)
this animation emphasizes the ionotropic glutamate receptors, but still shows the same basic of synaptic transmission. i think it is a good animation because it has a "key" for each of the different components of the transmission that they included in the animation, which helps to remind those watching it what the names are of each part. In addition, if you click on the "forward" button on the bottom right, each part of the key will show up according to when it is in affect, which helps us to follow what is occurring.
http://www.mind.ilstu.edu/flash/synapse_1.swf
This video I found is great in explaining step by step the process that takes place. When you press "begin animation" the video provides the demonstration between the neurons communicating with the synapse, and the chemical messages that travel. It helped me better understand the synaptic transmission process because it progressed through the process slowly and it also showed where the transmission was in accordance to the terminal and the dendrite which amde it easier to understand.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=B6mMRkOtbp4
The synapse transmission process can be seen at 1:35 while prior to it shows and explains action potential.
Although this is not an animation, this physical demonstration of the synapse process can be viewed at a quite interesting level. I believe the speaker who is explaining each stage of the synapse transmission does a good job but can go in a little more depth with each stage. They don’t explain acetylcholine going back into the prior cell which is interesting. Maybe they didn’t have enough time to finish this demonstration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uQZfaURU_Y
This animation is not the same as the other three provided by youtube.
Although this animation is not narrated, it is really easy to follow. You can see the action potential going throughout the nerve causing the Ca+ channel to open and let the Ca+ in. You can also see the vesicles releasing the neurotransmitters into the synapse and all those lovely steps that follow. It's a visual that can help you understand how this process works.
http://home.mesastate.edu/~kford/animations/Biopsychology/Synaptic_Transmission/synaptic_transmission.html
I believe that this animation for Synaptic Transmission is not very good. It doesn’t define any terms clearly other than the action potential (which they labeled as a neural impulse), but if you know anything about synaptic transmission you can figure out which ones are the synaptic vesicles (the brown circles with the solid blue circles inside, which ones are calcium, where the docking proteins and receptors are, etc. The animation becomes confusing, but I believe that the animation that Professor Williams showed in class was the most effective and useful animation.
This is the animation for synaptic transmission:
http://faculty.spokanefalls.edu/InetShare/AutoWebs/KarlA/Neuron%20Animations/Neuron%20Animation.html
I think this animation is clear visually and it can be seen what is going on during the synaptic transmission process. The animation can be made even better by adding more labels. Also, a narration of what is exactly going on during each step of the synaptic transmission would make the whole process easier to understand.
http://www.smbs.buffalo.edu/acb/neuro/images/NerveSynapse.swf
I think this was a good animation because it is easy to understand and clear. The animation itself is not confusing. However, it does not have any sound or any labeling! So I think it would be a bad animation for someone who does not already know the entire process for synaptic transmission. The animation would be much more effective if the calcium were labeled, the synaptic vesicles, and if the action potential were explained more through a narrator.
http://www.goalfinder.com/product.asp?productid=68#
This is a beautiful animation. Although the full animation comes after purchasing it for two dollars, the preview itself is very informative. The animation starts off with just the brain and slowly gets specific to synaptic transimssion. There is no sound so you have to read, but the text is crucial in understanding the meaning of the animation. It really simplifies the whole concept and brings synaptic transmission into context with all other "brain stuff" we have learned so far.
http://outreach.mcb.harvard.edu/animations/synaptic.swf
If you click the heading "Synaptic Transmission" at the top of the page you will find a video on the steps involved in the transmission. I found this animation to be very helpful; not only does it give a step by step visual of the process, but it also explains it thoroughly.
http://www.funjournal.org/downloads/RamirezR9.pdf
This is an interesting animation, however, since it is a PDF file you have to copy and paste it to a clipboard and then play it which can be difficult. It also did not have enough labeling for my taste but still got the point across through the animation.
http://bioisolutions.blogspot.com/2008/01/neurons-and-how-they-work.html
This animation is great in that it has a vivid visual imagery. However, it could get confusing in the beginning because the animation starts off really general, but later on it goes into specific details by showing the models then showing the real scientific parts.
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp44/4403s.swf
I really like this animation because this animation provides great context before showing the synaptic transmission animation. It starts by showing where synaptic transmission could occur by displaying a motor neuron on a muscle cell whose full physiology can be seen. It then zooms out and shows in detail the synaptic transmission. This animation is similar to the class animation, however, it is better because it shows voltage-gated sodium channels opening and bringing in an influx of sodium, thus causing depolarization. The class animation didnt go into so much detail. The rest of the animation proceeds with great clarity and makes the process very easy to understand even for the first time student. I think we should use this particular animation in class, because it does a great job of integrating the muscle cell part of the lecture with the depolarization lecture and with synaptic transmission lecture.
Cont...
However, one disadvantage of the animation is that it shows only one vesicle. It might give the first time student the erroneous impression that there is only one vesicle in the neuron. I think the animation could be improved if multiple vesicles were seen inside the neuron.
http://www.bishopstopford.com/faculties/science/arthur/synapse.swf
This website is directly linked to the animation. It has total seven steps to shows the process of synaptic transmission. Also, there is simple explanation to guide you in every step of the animation.
But it does not explain specifically. Through this animation you can see the big picture of how synaptic transmission works.
http://www.edumedia-sciences.com/a80_l2-the-synapse.html
This is an animation that shows the transmission of an action potential from the presynaptic cell to the post synaptic cell. I don't necessarily like this animation because it is a little plain. It shows electrical signals and action potential, but it doesn't show CA2+ channels opening, or how the transferring of the AP to the post synaptic cell opens up the Ligand gated channels to let Na+ flow into the new cell.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HXx9qlJetSU&feature=related
This animation clearly explains what we went over in class. It displays the process of synaptic transmission and uses ACh as an example for the neurotransmitters. It also explains what is synapse is at the beginning of the video is a perfect overview of the lectures have covered in class this week. The only thing I didn't like about it is the man's voice who's explaining the process because his voice sounds dull and boring.
http://intro.bio.umb.edu/111-112/112s99Lect/neuro_anims/s_t_anim/WW43.htm
I thought this animation was really cool because it had everything labelled, such as the synpatic cleft, which the neurotransmitter diffuses across, and the receptors that it binds to as it opens the ion-gated channels so that sodium ions can cause depolarization. It also shows how the action potential travels down the presynaptic neuron to release the neurotransmitters from the vesicles through exocytosis.
I thought this animation was very well explained of the synaptic transmission. It was very easy to understand how it worked. It clearly explains how the neuron, dendrites, soma, nucleus, hillock, axon works during action potential.
Although the animation is very general it explains the basic concepts. It can be more detailed.
http://www.zerobio.com/flashmx/synaptic.htm
I think this animation was somewhat helpful. They had good ideas and showed the transmission well but it didn't have any narration and that didn't help me very much. I like the fact that they had the parts labled but it would have been better if they could have the lables as the animation is running instead of having it seperate. They also have an explination of the steps but again, you can't see the explination at the same time the animation is running. If they could find a way to run everything at the same time, I think it would be a very helpful animation of synaptic transmision.
http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/salmon/year1/neurotransmitter-animation02.html
This webiste does not do such a great job showing what happens in the presynaptic cell but it does show what happens after the neurotransmitter attaches to the receptor. It shows how the neurotransmitter can either float away and disappear by diffusion of cell fluid, be taken back up by the presynaptic cell (reuptake), or be just broken down by enzymes. I don't like that there are no labels in the video and that it is very quick but it is a good overview of what happends after the neurotransmitters are released.
http://www.paxilcr.com/flash/depression.swf
This animation shows the effect of a drug on synaptic transmission working to reduce depression. The animation is not informative since the explanation is very basic, contains no labels, and omits some parts of how synaptic transmission works. The good thing is that it useful as additional information since it shows how the knowledge on synaptic transmission can be applied to treat depression. The animation shows how the neurotransmitter, serotonin, works normally and how if serotonin is reabsorbed too fast, the neurotransmitter cannot bind to the receptor of the post-synaptic neuron. To solve this, a drug can be applied to block reabsorption so that serotonin can bind to the receptors and send signals to the next cell.
http://learntech.uwe.ac.uk/synapsesNeuro/Default.aspx?pageid=1909
I really found this animation to be helpful because rather than telling you how synaptic transmission works it tests your knowledge. I think other students might find this website of good use when studying for the midterm and final. I particularly thought I would come back to this site and test myself to make sure I knew the information. I like the hands on learning. I seem to learn better when I have to actually use my brain and explain what's going on, rather than just watch what's happening. I hope others find this just as useful. The only flaw is it doesn't really give a good look at the exact process like other animations do.
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