Readily Releasable Pool

In order to understand the functioning of signal transmission at synapses, it is crucial to understand how fusion of synaptic vesicles takes place. The number and energetic states of the pool of synaptic vesicles as well as the coupling to the calcium trigger are crucial for the efficiency of neurotransmitter release. Having tools available that allow us to distinguish pool parameters and calcium secretion coupling parameters is important to understand how release may differ from synapse to synapse and how molecular alterations affect a specific component of release. In this chapter, we introduce methods that specifically define and analyze the pool size of the readily releasable pool (RRP) and discuss their advantages and limitations.