Transmembrane calcium current: Mechanism, registration procedures, calcium-mediated modulators of synaptic transmission

The paper reviews data on mechanisms of calcium current and methods of its recording. The involvement of calcium ions in excitation of nerve and muscle cells and in particular in synaptic transmission processes is considered. Calcium signaling relies on voltage-dependent and ligand-gated calcium channels. The review focuses mainly on calcium currents flowing through voltage-dependent channels. The conditions evoking calcium currents, basic methods of their recordings, as well as effects of some important endogenous modulators of neuromuscular transmission are overviewed.