Paper Report for: Castellucci_1974_Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A_71_5004
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Title: A quantal analysis of the synaptic depression underlying habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia Castellucci VF, Kandel ER Ref: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 71:5004, 1974 : PubMed
Habituation, one of the simplest behavioral paradigms for studying memory, has recently been examined on the cellular level in the gill-withdrawal reflex in the mollusc Aplysia and in the escape response in cray-fish. In both cases short-term habituation involved a decrease in excitatory synaptic transmission at the synapses between the sensory neurons and their central target cells. To analyze the mechanisms of the synaptic depression in Aplysia, we applied a quantal analysis to synaptic transmission between the sensory and motor neurons of the gill-withdrawal reflex. Our results indicate that short-term habituation results from a presynaptic mechanism: a decrease in the number of transmitter quanta released per impulse. The sensitivity of the postsynaptic receptor remains unaltered.
        
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Castellucci VF, Kandel ER (1974) A quantal analysis of the synaptic depression underlying habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A71: 5004-8
Castellucci VF, Kandel ER (1974) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A71: 5004-8