Dale N, Schacher S, Kandel E R
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY 10032.
Science. 1988 Jan 15;239(4837):282-5. doi: 10.1126/science.2892269.
In a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates, long-lasting enhancement of synaptic transmission contributes to the storage of memory lasting one or more days. However, it has not been demonstrated directly whether this increase in synaptic transmission is caused by an enhancement of transmitter release or an increase in the sensitivity of the postsynaptic receptors. These possibilities can be distinguished by a quantal analysis in which the size of the miniature excitatory postsynaptic potential released spontaneously from the presynaptic terminal is used as a reference. By means of microcultures, in which single sensory and motor neurons of Aplysia were plated together, miniature excitatory postsynaptic potentials attributable to the spontaneous release of single transmitter quanta from individual presynaptic neurons were recorded and used to analyze long-term facilitation induced by repeated applications of 5-hydroxytryptamine. The results indicate that the facilitation is caused by an increase in the number of transmitter quanta released by the presynaptic neuron.
在多种脊椎动物和无脊椎动物中，突触传递的长期增强有助于存储持续一天或更长时间的记忆。然而，突触传递的这种增加是由递质释放增强还是突触后受体敏感性增加引起的，尚未得到直接证实。这些可能性可以通过量子分析来区分，其中将从突触前终末自发释放的微小兴奋性突触后电位的大小用作参考。通过微培养，将海兔的单个感觉神经元和运动神经元一起培养，记录了单个突触前神经元自发释放单个递质量子所产生的微小兴奋性突触后电位，并用于分析重复应用5-羟色胺所诱导的长期易化作用。结果表明，易化作用是由突触前神经元释放的递质量子数量增加引起的。
