articlesThe building block of synaptic transmission is the quantum, the minimal increment of postsynaptic signals 1 . At vertebrate neuromuscular junctions, the quantum may be equated with spontaneous signals obtained in the absence of presynaptic action potentials, called miniature currents (or potentials) and believed to be due to release of one neurotransmitter vesicle. For central synapses, this issue remains an open question, as large miniature currents are suggested to arise from the concerted release of several presynaptic vesicles and to be the sum of several quanta 2-5 . Such multivesicular miniature events could reflect tetrodotoxinresistant action potentials in presynaptic terminals 6 . Another explanation comes from evidence for functional intracellular Ca 2+ stores in presynaptic terminals. First, inositoltrisphosphate (InsP 3 ) receptors are immunolocalized in presynaptic terminals of the deep cerebellar nuclei and retina 7,8 . Second, at the frog neuromuscular junction, agents that affect ryanodine-sensitive Ca 2+ stores also regulate presynaptic intracellular Ca 2+ (Ca 2+ i ) rises and acetylcholine release during high-frequency stimulation 9,10 . Third, action-potential-evoked release of acetylcholine at synapses in Aplysia buccal ganglia is inhibited by ryanodine and augmented by presynaptic injection of cyclic ADP ribose 11 . Fourth, caffeine and/or ryanodine modify presynaptic Ca 2+ i signals in autonomic ganglia 12,13 and in photoreceptors 14 . Finally, in hippocampal pyramidal cells, caffeine or thapsigargin can increase the frequency of miniature IPSCs 15 . Hence, spontaneous Ca 2+ release from presynaptic Ca 2+ stores may provide the synchronization mechanism that leads to multivesicular miniatures. However, except for one study that gave negative results in cultured retinal amacrine cells 16 , this possibility has not been tested systematically.To assess the contribution of intracellular Ca 2+ stores to neurotransmitter release, we monitored the amplitude distribution of miniature synaptic currents while manipulating potential presynaptic Ca 2+ stores. Using cerebellar interneuron-Purkinje cell synapses, in which large miniature synaptic currents are prominent, we found that the largest mIPSCs result from multivesicular release and depend on Ca 2+ mobilization from ryanodine-sensitive presynaptic stores. Further, two-photon confocal microscopy showed ryanodine-sensitive intracellular Ca 2+ i transients highly localized to presumed release sites, which may underlie large miniature currents.
RESULTSMiniature IPSCs recorded in cerebellar Purkinje cells, at -60 mV under symmetrical Cl -concentrations and in the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and ionotropic glutamate receptor blockers, showed mean amplitudes of 125 ± 9 pA (n = 28 cells), larger than for most neurons (Fig. 1a). Amplitude histograms had a distinct peak for values less than 200 pA, followed by a long tail with amplitudes up to 1500 pA (Fig. 1b). Spurious summation of independent events did not contribute to the generation of lar...