How does nerve gas affect the synapse?

Answer 1

Nerve gasses tend to disrupt the working of the neurotransmitters and causes convulsion.

Nerve gasses (like sarin) disrupt the ability of the synapse to break down neurotransmitter such as acetylcholine. The enzyme which causes acetylcholine to be degraded, acetylcholinesterase, binds to the nerve gas which in turn disables the catalysing effect of the enzyme.

This means that the muscle, which had contracted under the influence of acetylcholine, cannot relax back again. This generally leads to muscle contractions, and more importantly, the inability to breathe.

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Answer 2

Lydia Adams

Inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, is one way that nerve gas affects the synapse. This leads to an accumulation of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft, which can cause paralysis and death by overstimulation of the postsynaptic membrane and continuous firing of the nerve.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.