Cited by 486Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchCellular transport and secretionExtracellular vesicles in disease

The mechanisms and functions of spontaneous neurotransmitter release

Kavalali, Ege T.·2015·Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Abstract

Fast synaptic communication in the brain requires synchronous vesicle fusion that is evoked by action potential-induced Ca(2+) influx. However, synaptic terminals also release neurotransmitters by spontaneous vesicle fusion, which is independent of presynaptic action potentials. A functional role for spontaneous neurotransmitter release events in the regulation of synaptic plasticity and homeostasis, as well as the regulation of certain behaviours, has been reported. In addition, there is evidence that the presynaptic mechanisms underlying spontaneous release of neurotransmitters and their postsynaptic targets are segregated from those of evoked neurotransmission. These findings challenge current assumptions about neuronal signalling and neurotransmission, as they indicate that spontaneous neurotransmission has an autonomous role in interneuronal communication that is distinct from that of evoked release.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/nrn3875

Cites

116 of 116 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 117 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kavalali, E. T.
Affiliations
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Kavalali, Ege T.
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Published
2014-12-19
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
5-16
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
OpenAlex
W2096681544
Cited by
486
References
117
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 23
FWCI
4.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular transport and secretion
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Extracellular vesicles in disease
Keywords
spontaneous neurotransmitter release, synaptic vesicle fusion, presynaptic action potential, calcium influx, synaptic plasticity, synaptic homeostasis, interneuronal communication, presynaptic mechanisms, postsynaptic targets, neuronal signaling
MeSH terms
Action Potentials, Animals, Calcium, Humans, Synaptic Transmission, Neurons, Synapses, Synaptic Vesicles, Neurotransmitter Agents

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review