The contact areas between nerve cells are called synapses. What happens there lies at the heart of communication between nerve cells. Communication starts with the release of chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters at these synapses. Neurotransmitter-containing synaptic vesicles are involved in this release process, and these vesicles fuse with the cell membrane. This fusion occurs at a specific location within the synapse rather than just anywhere at random. Scientists have succeeded in identifying the molecule, which determines where in the synaptic gap neurotransmitters are released.