Abstract
The neurones of the central nervous system had long been recognized and in the latter part of the last century Sherrington had accepted the neurone theory of Rámon y Cajal and many other neuro-anatomists, that the neurones were structurally independent. He rejected the alternative reticular theory of Gerlach and Golgi according to which in the central nervous system the neurones were in continuity in a net-like structure with connectivities that could be vaguely seen in the inadequate histological preparations of that time. Sherrington recognized that the neurone theory involved functional communication between neurones at sites of contiguity that probably were made by structures called baskets or knobs or boutons. In writing on the functional activity of the central nervous system in 1897 Sherrington felt the need for some specific term for these zones of functional connection between neurones. On the advice of a Greek scholar of Cambridge he coined the word synapse for the surface of functional interaction between neurone and neurone.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Akert, K., Peper, K. and Sandri, C. (1975) Structural organization of motor end plate and central nervous synapses. In: Cholinergic Mechanisms. Waser, P.G., ed. Raven: New York, pp 43–57.
Bliss, T.V.P. and Lømo, T. (1973) Long-lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the perforant path. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 232, 331–356.
Bodian, D. (1966) Synaptic types on sprinal motoneurons: an electron microscopic study. Bull. Johns Hopk. Hosp., 119, 16–45.
Brock, L.G., Coombs, J.S. and Eccles, J.C. (1951) Action potentials of motoneurones with intracellular electrode. Proc. Univ. Otago Med. Sch., 29, 14–15.
Brooks, C. McC. and Eccles, J.C. (1947) An electrical Hypothesis of Central Inhibition. Nature, 159, 760–764.
Curtis, D.R. and Eccles, J.C. (1960) Synaptic action during and after repetitive stimulation. J Physiol. (Lond.), 150, 374–398.
Eccles, J.C. (1986a) Do mental events cause neural events analogously to the probability fields of quantum mechanics? Proc. Roy. Soc. B: 227, 411–428.
Eccles, J.C. (1986b) Mammalian systems for storing and retrieving information. In: Cellular Mechanisms of Conditioning and Behavioural Plasticity. Woody, C.D., ed. Plenum: New York, in press.
Eccles, J.C., Fatt, P. and Koketsu, K. (1954) Cholinergic and inhibitory synapses in a pathway from motor-axon collaterals to motoneurone. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 126, 524–562.
Eccles, J.C., Fatt, P. and Landgrén, S. (1954) The “direct” inhibitory pathway in the spinal cord. Aust. J. Sci. 16, 130–134.
Eccles, J.C., Katz, B. and Kuffler, S.W. (1942) Effect of eserine on neuromuscular transmission. J. Neurophysiol. 5, 211–230.
Eccles, J.C. and Sherrington, C.S. (1930) Reflex summation in the ipsilateral spinal flexion reflex. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 69, 1–28.
Gray, E.G. (1959) Electron microscopy of synaptic contacts on dendritic spines of the cerebral cortex. Nature, 183, 1592–1593
Gustafsson, B. and Wigström, H. (1986) Hippocampal long-lasting potentiation produced by pairing single volleys and brief conditioning tetani evoked in separate afferents. J. Neurosci. 6, 1575–1582.
Jack, J.J.B., Redman, S.J. and Wong, K. (1981a) The components of synaptic potentials evoked in cat spinal motoneurones by impulses in single group la afferents. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 321, 65–96.
Kelly, R.B., Deutsch, J.W., Carlson, S.S. and Wagner, J.A. (1979) Biochemistry of Neurotransmitter Release. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 2, 399–446.
Landgrén, S., Phillips, C.G. and Porter, R. (1962) Minimal synaptic actions of pyramidal impulses on some alpha motoneurones of the baboon’s hand and forearm. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 161, 91–111.
Lundberg, J.M. and Hökfelt, T. (1983) Coexistence of peptides and classical neurotransmitters. Trends in Neurosci. 325–333.
Margenau, J. (1984) The Miracle of Existence. Ox Bow Press: Woodbridge
Poritsky, R. (1969) Two and three dimensional ultrastructure of boutons and glial cells on the motoneural surface in the cat spinal cord. J. Comp. Neurol. 135, 423–452.
Sherrington, C.S. (1906) The Integrative Action of the Nervous System. Yale University Press: New Haven
Sherrington, C.S. (1925) Remarks on some aspects of reflex inhibition. Proc. Roy. Soc. B: 97, 519–545
Sherrington, C.S. (1929) Some functional problems attaching to convergence (Ferrier Lecture). Proc. Roy. Soc. B: 105, 332–362.
Sneddon, P. and Westfall, D.P. (1984) Pharmacological evidence that adenosine triphosphate and noradrenaline are co-transmitters in the guinea-pig vas deference. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 347, 561–580.
Swanson, L.W. (1983) Neuropeptides — new vistas on synaptic transmitters Trends in Neurosci. 6, 294–295.
Uchizono, K. (1965) Characteristics of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the central nervous system of the cat. Nature 207, 642–643.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eccles, J.C. (1987). Synapses of the Central Nervous System from Sherrington to the Present. In: McLennan, H., Ledsome, J.R., McIntosh, C.H.S., Jones, D.R. (eds) Advances in Physiological Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9492-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9492-5_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-9494-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-9492-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive