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Related Concept Videos

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters01:29

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical synapse. The released neurotransmitter can be excitatory or inhibitory. The critical criteria commonly used to determine whether a molecule is a neurotransmitter at a chemical synapse are the molecule's presence in the presynaptic neuron. Second, its release is in response to strong presynaptic depolarization. And lastly, the presence of specific...
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Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTD is the process of synaptic weakening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic weakening of LTD works in opposition to synaptic strengthening by long-term potentiation (LTP) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Long-term Depression01:03

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Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTD is the process of synaptic weakening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic weakening of LTD works in opposition to synaptic strengthening by long-term potentiation (LTP) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
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If over time, all...
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Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
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Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Examination of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling Using FM Dyes During Evoked, Spontaneous, and Miniature Synaptic Activities
08:10

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Published on: March 31, 2014

Heterogeneous release probabilities and activity-dependent short-term synaptic depression.

Simon Gelman1

  • 1Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience; Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Bronx, NY USA.

Communicative & Integrative Biology
|November 3, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neurotransmitter release at goldfish Mauthner cell synapses shows strong short-term depression, characterized by fast and slow components. This suggests two vesicle pools with differing release probabilities may explain synaptic function.

Keywords:
depletionmauthner cellrelease probabilitysynaptic plasticityvesicle pools

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Last Updated: May 28, 2026

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09:33

An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins

Published on: June 26, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Physiology
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Synaptic transmission is fundamental to neuronal communication, with neurotransmitter release being a key process.
  • While basic release mechanisms are conserved, synapse-specific properties enable specialized functions.
  • Goldfish Mauthner cell collaterals form axo-axonic synapses with cranial relay neurons (CRNs), exhibiting unique release characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the properties of neurotransmitter release and short-term depression at specialized goldfish nicotinic synapses.
  • To analyze the time course and contributing factors of synaptic depression in these axo-axonic synapses.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings of post-synaptic responses (EPSPs) evoked by presynaptic action potential trains.
  • Application of fast and slow calcium chelators (BAPTA and EGTA) via presynaptic injection.
  • Analysis of EPSP amplitude depression and latency changes over time.

Main Results:

  • Synapses exhibited strong short-term depression, even at low stimulation frequencies (0.33 Hz).
  • Depression followed a biexponential time course: a fast component reducing EPSP amplitude to <50% and a slow component causing an additional 10-30% reduction.
  • Depressed EPSPs showed prolonged latencies compared to the initial response.
  • Both fast and slow calcium chelators equally reduced neurotransmitter release.

Conclusions:

  • The observed depression patterns are consistent with a model involving changes in release probability.
  • An alternative interpretation suggests two releasable vesicle pools (high and low release probability) and a depletion scheme can explain the data.
  • Further discussion will focus on the two-pool vesicle model for synaptic depression.