Title: inhibitory post-synaptic potential
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - inhibitory post-synaptic potential
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.11832
Status: current

Definition
Referring to a more negative membrane potential at the postsynaptic side of the synaptic cleft that renders the postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential.

Notes
1) IPSPs are commonly produced by inhibitory neurotransmitters such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine.
2) Postsynaptic electrical activity is in part a function of the balance of IPSPs and excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs).

Related Terms
- action potential: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11562
- excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11765
- neurotransmitters: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11955
- postsynaptic: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12016
- synaptic cleft: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12110
- γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA): https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11575

Source
- PAC, 2015, 87, 841. 'IUPAC Glossary of terms used in neurotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2015)' on page 875 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0103)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11832/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11832/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11832/xml

Citation: Citation: 'inhibitory post-synaptic potential' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.11832
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Accessed: 2026-05-10T08:22:23+00:00