The extent to which spontaneous and evoked neurotransmission are spatially segregated within a synapse is unclear. Using a fluorescent calcium indicator to visualize activity in individual synapses, the authors found that most synapses in dissociated hippocampal cultures exhibit both spontaneous and evoked neurotransmission; however, unique populations of postsynaptic NMDA receptors are activated by each mode of transmission.
References
Reese, A. L. & Kavalali, E. T. Single synapse evaluation of the postsynaptic NMDA receptors targeted by evoked and spontaneous neurotransmission. eLife http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.21170 (2016)
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Whalley, K. Separating transmission modes. Nat Rev Neurosci 18, 5 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.176
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.176