Quantal Neurotransmitter Secretion Rate Exhibits Fractal Behavior

摘要: The rate of exocytic events from both neurons and non-neuronal cells exhibits fluctuations consistent with fractal (self-similar) behavior in time, as evidenced by a number statistical measures. We explicitly demonstrate this for neurotransmitter secretion at Xenopus neuromuscular junctions rat hippocampal synapses culture; the exocytosis exogenously supplied cultured myocytes fibroblasts behaves similarly. magnitude about mean decreases slowly is computed over longer time periods, periodogram power-law manner frequency, Allan factor (relative variance events) increases function counting time. These features are hallmarks self-similar behavior. Their description requires models that exhibit long-range correlation (memory) event occurrences. have developed physiologically plausible model accords all measures we examined. appearance synapses, well systems comprising collections indicates such ubiquitous neural signaling.