How to dismantle a detonator synapse
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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Research and Development of High-performance Explosives
Published on: February 20, 2016
Kenneth A Pelkey1, Chris J McBain
1Laboratory of Cellular and Synaptic Neurophysiology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Building 35, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Abstract:
Direct electrophysiological evaluation of ion channels in vertebrate presynaptic nerve terminals has been limited to synapses such as the neuromuscular junction and the giant calyx of Held. In this issue of Neuron, Engel and Jonas demonstrate that mossy fiber boutons have specialized voltage-gated Na(+) channels that critically impact upon presynaptic Ca(2+) influx by amplifying terminal invading action potentials.
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