Synaptic Organization and Acetylcholine Sensitivity of Multiply Innervated Autonomic Ganglion Cells
- S. Roper*,
- D. Purves†, and
- U. J. McMahan
This extract was created in the absence of an abstract.
Excerpt
Much of our knowledge about chemical synaptic transmission has come from studies of the neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscle fibers (see, for example, Katz 1969). One advantage of nerve-muscle preparations is that in many of them, the region of innervation in the live, isolated tissue can be recognized microscopically, thus aiding in the accurate placement of electrodes for electrophysiological investigations. An important advance in studies of this type has been the introduction of differential interference contrast (Nomarski) optics, which allows one to see with great clarity the outline of synapses in certain very thin preparations (see, for example, McMahan and Kuffler 1971; McMahan et al. 1972). One aspect of the neuromuscular junction that has emerged more clearly from the use of Nomarski optics combined with physiological techniques is that the region of acetylcholine (ACh) sensitivity is sharply localized to the subsynaptic membrane (Peper and McMahan 1972; Dreyer and Peper 1974;...
