BIO304H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Reticular Theory, Signal Transduction, Choline Acetyltransferase
Document Summary
We have already discussed how electrical signals (action potentials) travel and now we will look at what happens when the signal reaches the nerve terminal - this is where synaptic transmission occurs. Neural circuit diagrams by ramon y cajal and others, in the late 1800s, strongly hinted at the existence of the synapse. Prior to this, in 1846, german physiologist emil dubois-reymond proposed synapses. Microscope resolution at the time was not adequate for viewing sites of cell-cell contact in neural circuits. The idea that synapses might exist was ignored. Idea of synapse (connection of neurons via tunnels) - is crucial for cellular and reticular organization of nervous system. The concept of the synapse was at the heart of the cellular vs. reticular organization of the nervous system debate. The "reticular" camp thought that signal propagation in the nervous system involves direct flow of current along reticular structures.
