HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 95/5/3191    most recent 01309.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (15) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Singer, J. H. Articles by Diamond, J. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Singer, J. H. Articles by Diamond, J. S.

Vesicle Depletion and Synaptic Depression at a Mammalian Ribbon Synapse

Synaptic Physiology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Submitted 13 December 2005; accepted in final form 24 January 2006

We estimated the size of the readily releasable pool (RRP) of vesicles at a ribbon synapse in the rat retina by making paired voltage-clamp recordings from presynaptic rod bipolar cells (RBCs) and postsynaptic AII amacrine cells in an in vitro retinal slice preparation. The RRP at each active zone was estimated to constitute seven vesicles, in the range of estimated RRP sizes at conventional synapses. During sustained presynaptic Ca²⁺ entry, the RRP could be released with a time constant of about 4 ms. This ribbon synapse exhibited pronounced paired-pulse depression (PPD), which was attributable primarily to vesicle depletion. Recovery from PPD was slow ( 4 s) but could be accelerated by increasing the duration of the depressing stimulus. The small RRP and very high release probability likely contribute to the transient characteristics of neurotransmission at RBC synapses.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J.-J. Pang, F. Gao, A. Barrow, R. A. Jacoby, and S. M. Wu How do tonic glutamatergic synapses evade receptor desensitization? J. Physiol., June 15, 2008; 586(12): 2889 - 2902. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. LoGiudice, P. Sterling, and G. Matthews Mobility and Turnover of Vesicles at the Synaptic Ribbon J. Neurosci., March 19, 2008; 28(12): 3150 - 3158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G.-L. Li, J. Vigh, and H. von Gersdorff Short-Term Depression at the Reciprocal Synapses between a Retinal Bipolar Cell Terminal and Amacrine Cells J. Neurosci., July 11, 2007; 27(28): 7377 - 7385. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. J. Crowley, A. G. Carter, and W. G. Regehr Fast Vesicle Replenishment and Rapid Recovery from Desensitization at a Single Synaptic Release Site J. Neurosci., May 16, 2007; 27(20): 5448 - 5460. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. H. Singer Multivesicular release and saturation of glutamatergic signalling at retinal ribbon synapses J. Physiol., April 1, 2007; 580(1): 23 - 29. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. L. Beaudoin, B. G. Borghuis, and J. B. Demb Cellular Basis for Contrast Gain Control over the Receptive Field Center of Mammalian Retinal Ganglion Cells J. Neurosci., March 7, 2007; 27(10): 2636 - 2645. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Wersinger, Y. Schwab, J.-A. Sahel, A. Rendon, D. V. Pow, S. Picaud, and M. J. Roux The glutamate transporter EAAT5 works as a presynaptic receptor in mouse rod bipolar cells J. Physiol., November 15, 2006; 577(1): 221 - 234. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z.-Y. Zhou, Q.-F. Wan, P. Thakur, and R. Heidelberger Capacitance Measurements in the Mouse Rod Bipolar Cell Identify a Pool of Releasable Synaptic Vesicles J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2006; 96(5): 2539 - 2548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]