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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Patch-clamp Capacitance Measurements and Ca2+ Imaging at Single Nerve Terminals in Retinal Slices
Published on: January 19, 2012
Fast synaptic transmission in the goldfish CNS mediated by multiple nicotinic receptors
Charlotte L Grove1, Theresa M Szabo, J Michael McIntosh
1Dominick P Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. charlotte.grove@nyumc.org
Abstract:
Usually nicotinic receptors in the central nervous system only influence the strength of a signal between neurons. At a few critical connections, for instance some of those involved in the flight response, nicotinic receptors not only modulate the signal, they actually determine whether a signal is conveyed or not. We show at one of the few such connections accessible for study, up to three different nicotinic receptor subtypes mediate the signal. The subtypes appear to be clustered in separate locations. Depending on the number and combination of the subtypes present the signal can range from short to long duration and from low to high amplitude. This provides a critical connection with a built-in plasticity and may enable it to adapt to a changing environment.
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