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A Preparation for the Physiological Study of the Unit Synapse

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How do Brains Work?
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Abstract

Present concepts of synaptic activity are based on direct recording of electrical signs in a small number of preparations. The closest approximations to analysis of the unit synapse have been made with the artificial synapse formed by two isolated giant axons in contact (ephapse of Arvanitaki1) and the isolated neuromuscular junction2. Several true synapses among invertebrates offer promise as favourable material for recording from the single synapse, for example, the preparations of Pumphrey and Rawdon-Smith3 from the cockroach and of Prosser4 from the crayfish abdominal ganglion. The present communication directs attention to the possibilities of another preparation, from the stellate ganglion of a cephalopod, which appears to offer unique advantages.

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References

  1. Arvanitaki, A.,J. Neurophysiol., 5, 81 (1942).

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  2. Kuffler, S. W.,J. Neurophysiol., 5, 18 (1942).

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  3. Pumnhrey, R. J., and Rawdon-Smith, A. F., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 122 106 (1937).

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  4. Prosser, C. L., J. Cell. Comp. Physiol., 16. 25 (1940).

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  5. Young, J. Z., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc.. B, 229, 465 (1939).

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  6. Hodgkin, A. L., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 126, 87 (1938).

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© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Bullock, T.H. (1993). A Preparation for the Physiological Study of the Unit Synapse. In: How do Brains Work?. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-9427-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-9427-3_6

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-9429-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-9427-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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