Figure 2.2 | Synaptic Communication Between Neurons | Neurons communicate with each other chemically. As explained in the figure, there are three steps. (1) When the electrical impulse in a neuron reaches the axon terminals, it causes neurotransmitter molecules in the terminal vesicles to be released into the synaptic gap between neurons. (2) These molecules cross the gap and fit into receptor sites on the dendrites of other neurons, thereby carrying their messages. (3) The neurotransmitter molecules then go back into the gap, where they are either taken up by the sending neuron (reuptake) to be used again or are destroyed by enzymes.