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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Monitoring Changes in the Intracellular Calcium Concentration and Synaptic Efficacy in the Mollusc Aplysia
Published on: July 15, 2012
The effect of calcium ions on the binomial statistic parameters which control acetylcholine release at synapses in
Abstract:
A study has been made of the effects of changing [Ca]O and [Mg]O on the binomial statistic parameters p and n which control the average quantal content (m) of the synaptic potential due to acetylcholine release. 2. When [Ca]O was varied in the range 0-1 to 1-0 mM, p increased as the first power of [Ca]O whereas n increased as the third power of [Ca]O. 3. Increasing [Mg]O depressed both p and n, however variations of [Ca]O in the presence of high [Mg]O did not significantly change the power relationship between either p and [Ca]O or between n and [Ca]O. 4. The facilitated increase in m during a short train was due to an increase in n, whereas the post-tetanic increase in m during a tetanus was due to an increase in p. These results are considered in terms of the role of Ca ions in facilitation and post-tetanic potentiation.
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