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Characterization Of Excitatory Amino Acid Neurotransmitters At Motoneuron Synapses Contacting Renshaw Cells, Dannette Shanon Richards

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Motoneurons are among the best studied neurons in the central nervous system. The motoneuron synapses have been well characterized in the periphery where they release acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. However excitatory amino acids also seem to be released from motoneuron terminals in the periphery, and centrally at their synapses contacting Renshaw cells. Although excitatory amino acids are suggested to be released from motoneuron synapses it is not known which excitatory amino acids (either aspartate or glutamate) are released, nor is the mechanism for their release known. To examine the presence and mechanism of release for aspartate and glutamate at …