As an example of a neural structure, here is a cartoon of a vertebrate retina. The neat arrangement of layering, both of cell bodies and other structures, is a hallmark of neural architecture throughout the nervous system.

The process begins when depolarization causes voltage-dependent calcium channels to open allowing calcium to enter the membrane. Calcium facilitates the fusion of the synaptic vesicles with the the terminal membrane, releasing synaptic transmitter. Transmitter travels across the synaptic cleft, binds to receptors onthe postsynaptic membrane, causing a change in ionic flow there.