Abstract
THE generally accepted mechanism of chemical transmission at excitatory and inhibitory synapses is an interaction of a transmitter substance with the sub-synaptic cell region, causing an increase of membrane conductance for specific ions. Excitatory transmission is essentially a depolarization due to the increased membrane permeability to one or more ions (predominantly Na+) which have their effective ‘electrochemical equilibrium’ potential near zero membrane potential. This system has been worked out most thoroughly in the vertebrate nerve–muscle junction by Katz, Fatt and Del Castillo1. An interesting variation of the above postsynaptic mechanism is described here.
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References
del Castillo, J., and Katz, B., Prog. Biophys., 6, 121 (1956).
Boistel, J., and Fatt, P., J. Physiol., 144, 176 (1958).
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DUDEL, J., KUFFLER, S. Excitation at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction with Decreased Membrane Conductance. Nature 187, 246–247 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/187246a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/187246a0
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