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Updated: Mar 8, 2026

Dopamine Release at Individual Presynaptic Terminals Visualized with FFNs
Published on: August 31, 2009
Dendritic Release of Neurotransmitters
Mike Ludwig1, David Apps1, John Menzies1
1Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
None:
Release of neuroactive substances by exocytosis from dendrites is surprisingly widespread and is not confined to a particular class of transmitters: it occurs in multiple brain regions, and includes a range of neuropeptides, classical neurotransmitters, and signaling molecules, such as nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, ATP, and arachidonic acid. This review is focused on hypothalamic neuroendocrine cells that release vasopressin and oxytocin and midbrain neurons that release dopamine. For these two model systems, the stimuli, mechanisms, and physiological functions of dendritic release have been explored in greater detail than is yet available for other neurons and neuroactive substances. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:235-252, 2017.
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