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Synapses. Computer artwork of synapses, the junctions between the ends (green, swollen) of two nerve cells (neurons). Signals are passed along nerve cells in the form of an electrical impulse (flashes of light). Synapses are responsible for the transmission of this electrical impulse from one nerve cell to the next, using chemical transmitters to cross the synaptic gap. The fibres of the nerve cells (the dendrites and axons) are surrounded by a myelin sheath (light green). This insulates them and allows signals to be transmitted along the fibres more quickly. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/DAVID MACK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)