Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on June 14, 2007
Cerebral Cortex 2008 18(2):407-423; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhm075
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
18/2/407    most recent
bhm075v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hagenston, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Yeckel, M. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hagenston, A. M.
Right arrow Articles by Yeckel, M. F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

MGluR-Mediated Calcium Waves that Invade the Soma Regulate Firing in Layer V Medial Prefrontal Cortical Pyramidal Neurons

Anna M. Hagenston1, John S. Fitzpatrick1 and Mark F. Yeckel1,2

1 Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, CT 06520, USA, 2 The Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, CT 06520, USA

Address correspondence to Mark F. Yeckel, PhD, Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. Email: mark.yeckel{at}yale.edu.

Factors that influence the activity of prefrontal cortex (PFC) pyramidal neurons are likely to play an important role in working memory function. One such factor may be the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. Here we investigate the hypothesis that metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs)-mediated waves of internally released Ca2+ can regulate the intrinsic excitability and firing patterns of PFC pyramidal neurons. Synaptic or focal pharmacological activation of mGluRs triggered Ca2+ waves in the dendrites and somata of layer V medial PFC pyramidal neurons. These Ca2+ waves often evoked a transient SK-mediated hyperpolarization followed by a prolonged depolarization that respectively decreased and increased neuronal excitability. Generation of the hyperpolarization depended on whether the Ca2+ wave invaded or came near to the soma. The depolarization also depended on the extent of Ca2+ wave propagation. We tested factors that influence the propagation of Ca2+ waves into the soma. Stimulating more synapses, increasing inositol trisphosphate concentration near the soma, and priming with physiological trains of action potentials all enhanced the amplitude and likelihood of evoking somatic Ca2+ waves. These results suggest that mGluR-mediated Ca2+ waves may regulate firing patterns of PFC pyramidal neurons engaged by working memory, particularly under conditions that favor the propagation of Ca2+ waves into the soma.

Key Words: calcium release • inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor • neocortex/physiology • SK channels • slow afterdepolarization


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.