What are the processes and operational mechanisms by which information
flows from its first reception by the neuronal cell to the final
informationally relevant process carried out by that neuron?
Assume that it has already been explained how reception of a
neurotransmitter catalyzes either an EPSP or IPSP, but go into detail
regarding the mechanism by which the action potential is carried along
the axon.

cara15...

"Assume that it has already been explained how reception of a
neurotransmitter catalyzes either an EPSP or IPSP, but go into
detail regarding the mechanism by which the action potential
is carried along the axon."

There is an excellent discussion of the overall process in a 
multimedia project on the website of Williams College in 
Massachesetts, copyright 2000 Betty Zimmerberg:

"The cell body, or soma, of a neuron is like that of any other
 cell, containing mitochondria, ribosomes, a nucleus, and other
 essential organelles. Extending from the cell membrane, however,
 is a system of dendritic branches which serve as receptor sites
 for information sent from other neurons. If the dendrites
 receive a strong enough signal from a neighboring nerve cell,
 or from several neighboring nerve cells, the resting electrical
 potential of the receptor cell's membrane becomes depolarized.
 Regenerating itself, this electrical signal travels down the
 cell's axon, a specialized extension from the cell body which
 ranges from a few hundred micrometers in some nerve cells, to
 over a meter in length in others. This wave of depolarization
 along the axon is called an action potential. Most axons are
 covered by myelin, a fatty substance that serves as an insulator
 and thus greatly enhances the speed of an action potential.
 In between each sheath of myelin is an exposed portion of the
 axon called a node of Ranvier. It is in these uninsulated areas
 that the actual flow of ions along the axon takes place."
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/introduction_main.html

In other words, once an EPSP or IPSP has been generated, the 
receptor cell regenerates its resting electrical potential,
which creates enough of a difference in charge to propel
the depolarization in a wave of ion flow which occurs in the 
nodes of Ranvier, insulated by a sheath of myelin, just as
a difference in electrical potential causes electrons to flow
through an insulated copper wire in your computer. The actual
process is more about the conversion of chemical energy into
electrical energy, as we shall see.

This process is repeated as the action potential travels from
cell to cell through either electrical synapses, which are
specialized channels called gap junctions, or through chemical
synapses, whereby chemical neurotransmitters, either excitatory
or inhibitory, travel through the synaptic cleft which separates
two cells.

The discussion goes on to detail how this process is carried out
repeatedly in 4 steps, with a thorough discussion of each step:

1. Synthesis and Storage of Neurotransmitters
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/I.html

2. Neurotransmitter Release
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/II.html

3. Recognition by Neurotransmitter Postsynaptic Receptors
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/III.html

4. Inactivation of Neurotransmitters
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/IV.html

The homepage for the project is here:
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/

On the page which describes the third step, the differences
between ionotropic receptors, also referred to as 
ligand-gated ion channels, and Metabotropic receptors,
also called G-protein linked receptors, is discussed.
The mechanisms whereby depolarization and the resultant
ion transfer occurs, differ between the two, and each is
considered at length.
http://www.williams.edu:803/imput/III.html


Now, as to the actual details of the ion transmission through
the nodes of Ranvier, there is an excellent discussion on the
website of Raymond Walters College at the University of 
Cincinnati, ©2003, Kenneth R. Koehler, in which he describes
how "...the nerve impulse 'jumps' down the axon (this is known
as 'saltatory' conduction)", through a series of electrochemical
processes involving sodium and potassium ions. I won't presume
to reproduce it here, so please read the complete disquisition
on this webpage:
http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/4d.html

If you follow the links leading from the bottom of that page,
he then proceeds to explain basic electrical circuitry, in
preparation for the following page, in which he simulates the
activity of electrical transmission through the axon using
a circuit diagram of resistors and capacitors. Brilliant!:
http://www.rwc.uc.edu/koehler/biophys/4h.html

You may also locate additional useful links in the search
results which I've linked to below.


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Searches done, via Google:

"synaptic transmission
://www.google.com/search?q=%22synaptic+transmission

"node of Ranvier" "ion transfer"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22node+of+Ranvier%22+%22ion+transfer%22

Thank you very much...you saved my grade!!  That was the most helpful
answer I have recieved.