Post-synaptic and Pre-synaptic are terms used to describe the connection semantics of a synapse. A synapse is a connection between two entities, one sourcing the connection with its axon: the pre-synaptic entity, and one receiving the axon connection: The post-synaptic entity.





While shown for a single connection this works just as well when describing or discussing multiple entities that are party to any number of connections.

This terminology is preferred over the ANN convention of speaking in terms of hidden cells or layers, as it prevents inadvertently pulling the entire system into the discussion.