Abstract
THE exact nature of the quantum is still not known. Several observations1–6 support the idea that transmitter is released from synaptic vesicles. Analyses based on the quantum hypothesis using Poisson7,8 or binomial statistics9,10 cannot provide direct evidence for or against this idea, since quanta might equally well be produced by the opening and closing of membrane shutters allowing release of cytoplasmic transmitter. All these considerations rest on the assumption that a single quantum is due to the discharge of a single vesicle or a single shutter action. Recent reports have pointed to a remarkable heterogenity of the quantum in the mouse and frog neuromuscular junction11,12 and in some cases subunits are apparent. In this investigation, evidence is provided from the frog neuromuscular junction that the ‘quantum’ has subunits.
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WERNIG, A., STIRNER, H. Quantum amplitude distributions point to functional unity of the synaptic ‘active zone’. Nature 269, 820–822 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269820a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269820a0
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