ABSTRACT
Bernard Katz laid the foundations for the understanding of almost every aspect of synaptic transmission – from recognising the importance of calcium ions in presynaptic physiology to establishing the quantal theory of neurotransmitter release. Katz began to unravel the biochemistry of the pineal gland and investigate how melatonin is produced in response to light. To assess the nature of the tiny potentials further, Katz and Paul Fatt decided to manipulate the ionic composition of the solution bathing the neuromuscular junction. They started by removing the sodium ions and found this abolished both the end plate potential (EPPs) and miniature end plate potentials (mEPPs). When Fatt and Katz reduced the levels of calcium, they found an interesting difference: this manipulation has significantly reduced the amplitude of the EPPs, but it had no effect on the occurrence of the much smaller mEPPs.
