Smith of Yale University (now at Stanford University) used calcium imaging to show that the calcium concentration in an astrocyte would rise suddenly when the neurotransmitter glutamate was added to a cell culture.

• 结果显示，如果把神经传递物麸胺酸加入组织培养中的星状细胞，细胞中钙离子的浓度就会突然上升。