We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Action potential bursts enhance transmitter release at a giant central synapse.
- Authors
Zhang, Bo; Sun, Liang; Yang, Yi-Mei; Huang, Hong-Ping; Zhu, Fei-Peng; Wang, Li; Zhang, Xiao-Yu; Guo, Shu; Zuo, Pan-Li; Zhang, Claire X.; Ding, Jiu-Ping; Wang, Lu-Yang; Zhou, Zhuan
- Abstract
Information is coded in the form of bursts of electrical impulses propagating among nerve cells which form complex networks in the brain. Effective communication between these cells depends on the ability for cross-talk among them through release and reception of chemical substances (neurotransmitters). This study uses the hearing system as a model to show that the patterns of electrical impulses can dramatically impact the amount of neurotransmitter released. When presented in short clusters, these impulses are more effective in releasing neurotransmitters than those composed of the same number of impulses but given continuously. Our findings may potentially help us understand how nerve cells code and transfer information in the mammalian brain, and in particular, how auditory neurons localize the sound source in space.
- Publication
Journal of Physiology, 2011, Vol 589, Issue 9, p2213
- ISSN
0022-3751
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1113/jphysiol.2010.200154