The calyx-type synapse of the chick ciliary ganglion as a model of fast cholinergic transmission.
The calyx-type synapse of the embryonic chick ciliary ganglion is reviewed as a model of transmitter release from a vertebrate presynaptic nerve terminal. This nerve terminal is extensive in area, enabling the penetration with microelectrodes and the application of patch-clamp techniques. In other respects the calyx synapse is a typical fast-transmitting cholinergic nerve terminal. This synapse has been used to obtain the first recordings of action potentials and calcium currents in a vertebrate presynaptic nerve terminal and is the only preparation in which it has proved possible to record single calcium channels directly from the transmitter release sites. The calyx remains a powerful experimental preparation for the further analysis of the mechanism and control of neurotransmitter release in fast-transmitting nerve terminals.
Stanley
E F
EF
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, Biophysics Laboratory, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005726:Ganglia, Parasympathetic / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*