The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 87 No. 2 February 2002, pp. 776-792
Copyright ©2002 by the American Physiological Society

Calcium Waves and Closure of Potassium Channels in Response to GABA Stimulation in Hermissenda Type B Photoreceptors

School of Computational Sciences and the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Blackwell, K. T. Calcium Waves and Closure of Potassium Channels in Response to GABA Stimulation in Hermissenda Type B Photoreceptors. J. Neurophysiol. 87: 776-792, 2002. Classical conditioning of Hermissenda crassicornis requires the paired presentation of a conditioned stimulus (light) and an unconditioned stimulus (turbulence). Light stimulation of photoreceptors leads to production of diacylglycerol, an activator of protein kinase C, and inositol triphosphate (IP₃), which releases calcium from intracellular stores. Turbulence causes hair cells to release GABA onto the terminal branches of the type B photoreceptor. One prior study has shown that GABA stimulation produces a wave of calcium that propagates from the terminal branches to the soma and raises the possibility that two sources of calcium are required for memory storage. GABA stimulation also causes an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) followed by a late depolarization and increase in input resistance, whose cause has not been identified. A model was developed of the effect of GABA stimulation on the Hermissenda type B photoreceptor to evaluate the currents underlying the late depolarization and to evaluate whether a calcium wave could propagate from the terminal branches to the soma. The model included GABA_A, GABA_B, and calcium-sensitive potassium leak channels; calcium dynamics including release of calcium from intracellular stores; and the biochemical reactions leading from GABA_B receptor activation to IP₃ production. Simulations show that it is possible for a wave of calcium to propagate from the terminal branches to the soma. The wave is initiated by IP₃-induced calcium release but propagation requires release through the ryanodine receptor channel where IP₃ concentration is small. Wave speed is proportional to peak calcium concentration at the crest of the wave, with a minimum speed of 9 µm/s in the absence of IP₃. Propagation ceases when peak concentration drops below 1.2 µM; this occurs if the rate of calcium pumping into the endoplasmic reticulum is too large. Simulations also show that both a late depolarization and an increase in input resistance occur after GABA stimulation. The duration of the late depolarization corresponds to the duration of potassium leak channel closure. Neither the late depolarization nor the increase in input resistance are observed when a transient calcium current and a hyperpolarization-activated current are added to the model as replacement for closure of potassium leak channels. Thus the late depolarization and input resistance elevation can be explained by a closure of calcium-sensitive leak potassium currents but cannot be explained by a transient calcium current and a hyperpolarization-activated current.