The impact of receptor desensitization on fast synaptic transmission
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 2, 2026

Evaluation of Synaptic Multiplicity Using Whole-cell Patch-clamp Electrophysiology
Published on: April 23, 2019
1Vollum Institute, Portland, USA.
Abstract:
The role of desensitization of ligand-gated channels at fast chemical synapses has been difficult to establish. Densensitization has been studied traditionally with prolonged agonist exposure, whereas the duration of free neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft is relatively brief. Studies of acetylcholine-, glutamate- and GABA-gated channels using rapid agonist application now provide a means to assess the effects of densensitization in shaping synaptic responses and in influencing neuronal excitability. These data reveal several strikingly different patterns by which the receptor-specific kinetics of densensitization can determine the size, timecourse and frequency of transmitted signals. Densensitization is thus a surprisingly versatile mechanism for shaping synaptic transmission.
Related Concept Videos
Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis
Several...
GPCR Desensitization
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...
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

