Excitation-secretion coupling

The third dimension of chemical neurotransmission is function, namely that cascade of molecular and cellular events set into action by the chemical signaling process. First come the presynaptic and then the postsynaptic events. An electrical impulse in the first, or presynaptic, neuron is converted into a chemical signal at the synapse by a process known as excitation-secretion coupling. 

Understand the functional dimension of neurotransmission, gaining familiarity with excitation secretion coupling, receptor occupancy, and second messenger systems. 

The actions of voltage-activated ion channels in excitation-secretion coupling as described in Section 3.2, will help to reason about signaling mechanisms employed by presynaptic ionotropic receptors. Receptors, the activation of which mimics one of the functions of voltage-activated channels, will mediate the same effect as that channel. In contrast, if receptor activation interferes with one of the actions of the voltage-sensitive channels, the result will be the opposite. 

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Wojcik SM, Brose N. Regulation of membrane fusion in synaptic excitation-secretion coupling speed and accuracy matter. Neuron 2007 55 11-24. 

Reed A, Herlofson BB. 1994. Inhibitory effects of HgCL2 on excitation secretion coupling at the motor nerve terminal and excitation contraction coupling in the muscle cell. Cellular Mol Neuro 14(6) 623-636. 

Gallo-Payet, N., and Payet, M. D. (1989). Excitation-secretion coupling involvement of potassium channels in ACTH-stimulated rat adrenocortical cells. J Endocrinol 120,409 21. 

Excitation-secretion coupling is a highly calcium-dependent process, and thus the calcium dependency of evoked release could be... 

EVIDENCE FOR THE ROLE OF CALCIUM IN THE EXCITATION-SECRETION COUPLING FOR VASOPRESSIN... 

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