A nerve impulse may be defined as wave of depolarization of the membrane of the nerve cell. The nerve impulse travels along a neuron or across a synapse (junction), between one neuron and another or between a neuron and an effector, such as a muscle or gland. The synapse is an area of functional contact between one neuron and another for the purpose of transferring information. Sir Charles Sherrington (1861-1954) was the first person who used the term synapse to the junctional points between two neurons.