Summary
A nerve impulse arrived at the nerve terminal activates voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and causes rapid Ca2+ influx. The high Ca2+ concentration produced in an active zone of the presynaptic terminal triggers the fusion of docked synaptic vesicles via low-affinity Ca2+-binding proteins and thus elicits neurotransmitter release. Synaptic vesicles are locally replenished by endocytosis. A fairly number of proteins and their interactions are involved in neurotransmitter exocytosis and synaptic vesicle recycling. Most of these processes are regulated by neuromodulators.
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Mochida, S., Kuba, K. (2000). Introductory Review: Exocytosis and Modulation. In: Kuba, K., Higashida, H., Brown, D.A., Yoshioka, T. (eds) Slow Synaptic Responses and Modulation. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-66973-9_29
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