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Science 24 November 1972:
Vol. 178. no. 4063, pp. 881 - 883
DOI: 10.1126/science.178.4063.881
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Articles

Synaptic Transmission at Single Glomeruli in the Turtle Cerebellum

J. V. Walsh 1, J. C. Houk 1, R. L. Atluri 2, and E. Mugnaini 2

1 Department of Physiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
2 Department of Biobehaviorial Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs

We have recorded from the granular layer of the turtle cerebellum extracellular unitary potentials that appear to reflect pre- and postsynaptic events at the synapse between a single swelling of a mossy fiber and the dendritic tips of several granule cells. The presynaptic component is an all-or-none potential. It can be directly activated by spinal stimulation and is unaltered by repetitive activity or by high concentrations of magnesium. The postsynaptic component is a graded potential. It follows the presynaptic component by approximately 1 millisecond and is depressed by repetitive activity and by high concentrations of magnesium. The recording of large potentials produced by the flow of postsynaptic current within a single glomerulus suggests powerful transmission. Electron micrographs demonstrate large cerebellar glomeruli in the turtle and a substantial accumulation of mitochondria in the dendritic tips of granule cells.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Topography and Response Timing of Intact Cerebellum Stained With Absorbance Voltage-Sensitive Dye.
M. E. Brown and M. Ariel (2009)
J Neurophysiol 101, 474-490
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Latencies of Climbing Fiber Inputs to Turtle Cerebellar Cortex.
M. Ariel (2005)
J Neurophysiol 93, 1042-1054
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)