The specialized junction between a neuron and another neuron or muscle cell for transfer of information such as brain signals, sensory inputs, etc., along the nervous system. One neuron may have many synapses with other neurons. As an impulse traveling along a nerve fiber arrives at the pre-synaptic area, it releases a neurotransmitter. The transmitter travels across the synapse and binds with a receptor on the post-synaptic membrane of the other cell.