Q.During synaptic transmission of nerve impulse, neurotransmitter (P) is released from synaptic vesicles by the action of ions (Q). Choose the correct P and Q.
a. P = Acetylcholine, Q = Ca++
b. P = Acetylcholine, Q = Na+
c. P = GABA, Q = Na+
d. P = Cholinesterase, Q = Ca++
Step 1. When a nerve impulse reaches the axon terminal, it depolarises the presynaptic membrane and opens voltage-gated calcium channels there.
Step 2. The resulting influx of Ca++ ions is what pulls the synaptic vesicles to the presynaptic membrane and triggers their fusion and exocytosis — so ion Q is Ca++.
Step 3. The vesicles release their neurotransmitter, and acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter identified in this chapter as opening the ligand-gated channels at the synapse — so neurotransmitter P is Acetylcholine.
Step 4. GABA and cholinesterase are both real substances in neurophysiology, but GABA is not the neurotransmitter this chapter ties to Ca++-triggered release, and cholinesterase is an enzyme that breaks acetylcholine down, not a neurotransmitter released from vesicles — so options c and d are wrong; option b is wrong because it names Na+ rather than Ca++ as the triggering ion.
P = Acetylcholine and Q = Ca++, option a.
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