Answer to Question #170715 in Cell Biology for Cameron Hicks

Question

Can a cellular culture be sustained in an environment with constant neurotransmitters signals without neurodegeneration, if the cells were readily supplemented with a high contents medium?

Answer 1

No. At chemical synapses, impulses are transmitted by the release of neurotransmitters from the axon terminal of the presynaptic cell into the synaptic cleft. Their subsequent binding to specific receptors on the postsynaptic cell causes a change in the ion permeability and thus the potential of the postsynaptic plasma membrane.