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Exocytosis occurs releasing neurotransmitters into the synapse. They diffuse across the synapse to receptor sites on ligand-gated sodium ion pores on the post-synaptic neuron, causing those pores to open, allowing sodium ions into the receiving neuron.

Those sodium ions cause an electrotonic signal to travel down the dendrite and soma to the axon hillock; these signals are considered to be a graded response, in that they may be more or less strong.

If the strength (level of voltage) at the axon hillock is sufficient, it will trigger voltage-gated sodium pores to open in the initial segment of the axon, which will allow more sodium ions into the axon at that point, causing v-gated ion pores a small distance away to open, letting more sodium ions in, opening more v-gated ion pores yet further awy to open, etc,; this process is known as an action potential.

(The neurotransmitters in the initial receptor sites has to be removed to close the ligand-gated sodium ion pores at the beginning of this process so that the neuron does not just fire continuously.)

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