A brain receptor is part of the dendrite of a neuron. It is the latter half of the synapse. It receives chemical (or electrical) signals from the axon terminal of another neuron that has connected with it. When an action potential is achieved in a neuron, an electrical signal travels from the soma (cell body) of the neuron, down through the axon, and to the axon terminal, where it releases a chemical (neurotransmitter). These chemicals then float freely across the synaptic cleft to the neighboring neuron, and are soaked in, or bound to, the receptors of the dendrite. After a neuron has soaked in enough of these neurotransmitters, it too can then create an action potential and resend the message to the next neighboring neurons in the chain.
Specifically, to bind to a receptor means a ligand (neurotransmitter) has found its way and planted itself in a ligand-gated ion channel (receptor).
Specifically, to bind to a receptor means a ligand (neurotransmitter) has found its way and planted itself in a ligand-gated ion channel (receptor).