New study provides unprecedented insight into the fine details of neuronal communication

For communication between neurons to occur, an electrical impulse, called an action potential, must travel down an axon to its synaptic terminal. A major technical challenge impeding the direct examination of this process, axonal excitability, is the small diameter of a typical axon — less than 500 nanometers. Researchers have now optimized optical and electrophysiological recordings from single neurons to study axonal excitability with unprecedented detail.