Laboratoire Matières et Systèmes Complexes, CNRS-UMR7057, Université Paris 7, F-75205 Paris cedex 13, France.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011 Jun 20;12(7):375-87. doi: 10.1038/nrn3025.
The variability of the postsynaptic response following a single action potential arises from two sources: the neurotransmitter release is probabilistic, and the postsynaptic response to neurotransmitter release has variable timing and amplitude. At individual synapses, the number of molecules of a given type that are involved in these processes is small enough that the stochastic (random) properties of molecular events cannot be neglected. How the stochasticity of molecular processes contributes to the variability of synaptic transmission, its sensitivity and its robustness to molecular fluctuations has important implications for our understanding of the mechanistic basis of synaptic transmission and of synaptic plasticity.
神经递质释放具有概率性，而神经递质释放后的突触反应具有可变的时程和幅度。在单个突触中，参与这些过程的特定类型分子的数量很少，以至于分子事件的随机（随机）性质不可忽略。分子过程的随机性如何影响突触传递的可变性、其对分子波动的敏感性和稳健性，对我们理解突触传递和突触可塑性的机制基础具有重要意义。
