Dr. David Goodsell’s captivating water color poster will lead your students through the molecular interactions found at neuromuscular synapse vesicles filled with acetylcholine, to a final breakdown of excess neurotransmitters.

Goodsell, PhD, scientist, author and artist of all things small, creates cellular landscapes that accurately illustrate the size, shape, and distribution of proteins in their natural environment of the cell. These unique water color images connect the molecular world, inferred by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, with the cellular world, observed by light and electron microscopy.

The Neuromuscular Synapse Poster^© illustrates the connection between a nerve cell and a muscle, where vesicles filled with the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, fuse with the membrane of the pre-synaptic axon. Following vesicle fusion, the acetylcholine diffuses across the synaptic space to bind to acetylcholine receptors found in the membrane of the muscle cell. Acetylcholinesterase is entangled in the synaptic space, where it breaks down excess neurotransmitter.

The Neuromuscular Synapse Poster^© measures 23”x30”.

3D Molecular Designs and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Center for BioMolecular Modeling continually develop and update lesson plans and other resources for our educational products. Teacher notes, student handouts and other supporting documents vary based on the applications and activities of the kit or model. We appreciate your feedback and encourage you to submit your own lessons, assessments and videos.

Materials on our Neuromuscular Synapse Poster© Teacher Resources page include:

Neuromuscular Synapse Poster^© Journal Article
Next Generation Science Standards