Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026

Construction of Cell-based Neurotransmitter Fluorescent Engineered Reporters (CNiFERs) for Optical Detection of Neurotransmitters In Vivo
Published on: May 12, 2016
A chemist and biologist talk to each other about caged neurotransmitters
1Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Abstract:
Caged compounds are small organic molecules that can be photoactivated with brief pulses of light. They are widely used to study a great variety of biological processes by physiologists, cell biologists and neuroscientists. Initially made and invented by biologists in the late 1970s, they are now made mostly by chemists, often without any dialogue with the end users, the biologists. The idea for this review is to stimulate interaction between the two communities to further the creative development and application of these powerful optical probes.
More Related Videos
10:23Measuring In Vivo Changes in Extracellular Neurotransmitters During Naturally Rewarding Behaviors in Female Syrian Hamsters
Published on: September 12, 2017
08:38Vibrodissociation of Neurons from Rodent Brain Slices to Study Synaptic Transmission and Image Presynaptic Terminals
Published on: May 25, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters
Chemical Synapses
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Chemical Synapses
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
The Synapse
Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action
Neurotransmitters