Stress can reinstate cocaine seeking through an interaction between the stress hormone corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and glutamate release onto dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). To better understand the underlying causes, synaptic mechanisms were investigated in brain slices from rats. In control tissue, EPSCs displayed concentration-dependent, bimodal responses to CRF potentiation at low concentrations (3-100 nM) and attenuation at higher concentrations (300 nM). EPSC potentiation and attenuation were mediated by CRF-R1 and CRF-R2 receptor subtypes, respectively, localized to presynaptic terminals. The CRF-R2 attenuation was blocked by the GABA-B receptor antagonist CGP55843. Additional recordings of GABA-A IPSCs showed CRF-R2 activation-facilitated presynaptic release of GABA, suggesting that CRF-R2 may regulate glutamate release via heterosynaptic facilitation of GABA synapses. After chronic cocaine self-administration and extinction training, the sensitivity of glutamate and GABA receptors was unchanged. However, the ability of CRF-R2 agonists to depress EPSCs and potentiate IPSCs was diminished. After yohimbine plus cue reinstatement, the actions of CRF-R2 on GABA and glutamate release were reversed. CRF-R2 activation increased EPSCs as a result of a reduction of tonic GABA-dependent inhibition. After reinstatement, application of the A1 adenosine antagonist 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine increased GABA tone to inhibit the CRF-R2 action. Blockade of GABA-B receptors prevented both the CRF-R2 increase in EPSCs and the attenuation produced by 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine. These studies demonstrate that presynaptic CRF-R1/R2 tightly regulate glutamate transmission in the VTA via a concerted, heterosynaptic manner that may become altered by stress-related pathologies, such as addiction.

Voltage-activated Ca2+ channels (VACCs) mediate Ca2+ influx to trigger action potential-evoked neurotransmitter release but the mechanism by which Ca2+ regulates spontaneous transmission is unclear. Here we show VACCs are the major physiological triggers for spontaneous release at murine neocortical inhibitory synapses. Moreover, despite the absence of a synchronizing action potential, we find that spontaneous fusion of a GABA-containing vesicle requires the activation of multiple tightly-coupled VACCs of variable type.

Spontaneous release of neurotransmitter is regulated by extracellular [Ca2+] and intracellular [Ca2+]. Curiously, some of the mechanisms of Ca2+ signaling at central synapses are different at excitatory and inhibitory synapses. While the stochastic activity of voltage-activated Ca2+ channels trigger a majority of spontaneous release at inhibitory synapses, this is not the case at excitatory nerve terminals. Ca2+ release from intracellular stores regulates spontaneous release at excitatory and inhibitory terminals, as do agonists of the Ca2+-sensing receptor. Molecular machinery triggering spontaneous vesicle fusion may differ from that underlying evoked release and may be one of the sources of heterogeneity in release mechanisms.

Summary The molecular machinery underlying action potential-evoked, synchronous neurotransmitter release, has been intensely studied. It was presumed that two other forms of exocytosis- delayed (asynchronous) and spontaneous transmission, were mediated by the same voltage-activated Ca2+ channels (VACCs), intracellular Ca2+ sensors and vesicle pools. However, a recent explosion in the study of spontaneous and asynchronous release has shown these presumptions to be incorrect. Furthermore, the finding that different forms of synaptic transmission may mediate distinct physiological functions emphasizes the importance of identifying the mechanisms by which Ca2+ regulates spontaneous and asynchronous release. In this article we will briefly summarize new and published data on the role of Ca2+ in regulating spontaneous and asynchronous release at a number of different synapses. We will discuss how an increase of extracellular [Ca2+] increases spontaneous and asynchronous release, show that VACCs are involved at only some synapses, and identify regulatory roles for other ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors. In particular, we will focus on two novel pathways that play important roles in the regulation of non-synchronous release at two exemplary synapses: one modulated by the Ca2+-sensing receptor and the other by transient receptor potential cation channel sub-family V member 1.