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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Dopamine Release at Individual Presynaptic Terminals Visualized with FFNs
Published on: August 31, 2009
Mechanisms and regulation of dopamine release
Changliang Liu1, Pascal S Kaeser1
1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, United States.
Abstract:
Dopamine controls motor functions, motivation, and reward-related learning through G-protein coupled receptor signaling. The current working model is that upon release, dopamine diffuses to influence many target cells via wide-spread receptors. Recent studies, however, suggest that dopamine release is fast and generates small signaling hotspots. In this review, we summarize progress on the understanding of the dopamine release apparatus and evaluate how its properties may shape dopamine signaling during firing. We discuss how mechanisms of regulation may act through this machinery and propose that striatal architecture for dopamine signaling may have evolved to support rapid dopamine coding.
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