JN Watch the video to learn how APS reaches out to developing nations.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


J Neurophysiol 93: 1949-1958, 2005. First published November 17, 2004; doi:10.1152/jn.01050.2004
0022-3077/05 $8.00
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
93/4/1949    most recent
01050.2004v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
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 Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mercer, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hildebrand, J. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mercer, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hildebrand, J. G.

Plateau Potentials in Developing Antennal-Lobe Neurons of the Moth, Manduca sexta

A. R. Mercer1,2, P. Kloppenburg3 and J. G. Hildebrand2

1Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; 2Arizona Research Laboratories Division of Neurobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona; and 3Zoologisches Institut II, Lehrstuhl Tierphysiologie, Universität zu Köln, Germany

Submitted 6 October 2004; accepted in final form 9 November 2004


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Using whole cell recordings from antennal-lobe (AL) neurons in vitro and in situ, in semi-intact brain preparations, we examined membrane properties that contribute to electrical activity exhibited by developing neurons in primary olfactory centers of the brain of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. This activity is characterized by prolonged periods of membrane depolarization that resemble plateau potentials. The presence of plateau potential–generating mechanisms was confirmed using a series of tests established earlier. Brief depolarizing current pulses could be used to trigger a plateau state. Once triggered, plateau potentials could be terminated by brief pulses of hyperpolarizing current. Both triggering and terminating of firing states were threshold phenomena, and both conditions resulted in all-or-none responses. Rebound excitation from prolonged hyperpolarizing pulses could also be used to generate plateau potentials in some cells. These neurons were found to express a hyperpolarization-activated inward current. Neither the generation nor the maintenance of plateau potentials was affected by removal of Na+ ions from the extracellular medium or by blockade of Na+ currents with TTX. However, blocking of Ca2+ currents with Cd2+ (5 x 10–4 M) inhibited the generation of plateau potentials, indicating that, in Manduca AL neurons, plateau potentials depend on Ca2+. Examining Ca2+ currents in isolation revealed that activation of these currents occurs in the absence of experimentally applied depolarizing stimuli. Our results suggest that this activity underlies the generation of plateau potentials and characteristic bursts of electrical activity in developing AL neurons of M. sexta.


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Developing neurons in primary olfactory centers [antennal lobes (ALs)] of the brain of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta, show bursts of electrical activity (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002aGo; Oland et al. 1996Go). Here, we examine intrinsic properties that contribute to the characteristic form of electrical activity apparent in these developing neurons: their ability to generate prolonged membrane depolarizations or plateau potentials.

In holometabolous insects such as moths, the architecture of the ALs changes dramatically during metamorphic development. Manduca larvae hatch from eggs and pass through five larval instars before undergoing metamorphosis from larva to pupa to adult. Pupal development can be divided into 18 stages, each of which lasts ~1 day (Sanes and Hildebrand 1976a, bGo; Tolbert et al. 1983Go). At the onset of pupal development (pupal stages 1 and 2; Sanes and Hildebrand 1976a, bGo), olfactory receptor cells are born in the antennal epithelium. These primary sensory afferent neurons extend axons toward the ALs of the brain, where they trigger the formation, late in pupal stage 3, of subunits of synaptic neuropil called glomeruli (Hildebrand 1985Go; Tolbert et al. 1983Go). The glomeruli develop in a lateral-to-medial wave that crosses the AL neuropil (Malun et al. 1994Go). Each glomerulus is invaded by local interneurons, the processes of which are restricted to the AL neuropil, and by AL projection (output) neurons, which transfer information from the AL to higher-order centers, such as the mushroom bodies of the brain. Centrifugal neurons contribute also to the complex, highly structured glomerular neuropil of the ALs. A large serotonin-immunoreactive neuron enters the developing AL around pupal stage 6 and sends a dense tuft of arbors into each glomerulus (Kent et al. 1987Go; Oland et al. 1995Go). Previous reports have shown that serotonin (5HT) affects the growth (Mercer et al. 1996aGo) as well as the excitability (Kloppenburg and Heinbockel 2000Go; Kloppenburg and Hildebrand 1995Go; Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go, 1996bGo) of Manduca AL neurons.

Rapid changes in AL morphology coincide temporally with changes in the electrophysiological properties and response characteristics of AL neurons (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002a, bGo). Action potentials in neurons from Manduca ALs early in metamorphosis are generally small in amplitude, long in duration, and Ca2+ dependent, but as development proceeds, they become larger in amplitude, shorter in duration, and increasingly Na+ dependent. Developmental changes in voltage-gated and Ca2+-dependent ionic currents contribute to the emergence of cell type–specific response characteristics in the cells (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002a, bGo).

During metamorphosis, including critical stages of glomerulus formation, electrical activity can be detected in antennal nerve (sensory afferent) fibers and in AL neurons of the moth (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002aGo; Oland et al. 1996Go). In AL neurons, this activity is characterized by prolonged membrane depolarizations that resemble plateau potentials (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002aGo). Here we confirm the presence of plateau potential–generating mechanisms in Manduca AL neurons and show that the formation and maintenance of plateau potentials in developing AL neurons of the moth is Ca2+ dependent.


    METHODS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Manduca sexta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

Animals were reared on an artificial diet (modified from that of Bell and Joachim 1976Go) and maintained at 25°C and 50–60% relative humidity under a long-day photoperiod regimen (17-h light/7-h dark). AL neurons were either dispersed and maintained in culture or examined in situ using semi-intact brain preparations. The majority of cells examined in this study were from pupae at developmental stages 6–12 (n = 86), but small numbers of cells were also examined from early (stage 4; n = 5) and late (stages 14–16, n = 4) stages of metamorphosis.

AL neurons in vitro

Cells were maintained in vitro according to methods described previously by Hayashi and Hildebrand (1990)Go. Brains removed from cold-anesthetized pupae were placed into sterile culture saline containing (in mM) 149.9 NaCl, 3 KCl, 3 CaCl2, 0.5 MgCl2, 10 TES [N-tris-(hydroxymethyl)-methyl-2-aminoethane sulfonic acid], and 11 D-glucose and 6.5 g/l lactalbumin hydrolysate (GIBCO), 5 g/l TC Yeastolate (DIFCO), 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Hyclone), 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin, and adjusted to pH 7 and 360 mOsm. ALs were dissected from moth brains and transferred into Hanks' Ca2+- and Mg2+-free buffered salt solution (GIBCO) containing 0.5 mg/ml collagenase (Worthington) and 2 mg/ml Dispase (Boehringer Mannheim) for 2 min at 37°C to dissociate the tissue, which was dispersed by trituration with a fire-polished Pasteur pipette. Enzyme treatment was terminated by centrifuging cells, first through 6 ml of culture-saline solution and then through the same volume of culture medium (see Culture medium). Dissociated cells were allowed to settle and adhere to the surface of culture dishes coated with Concanavalin A (200 µg/ml, Sigma) and laminin (2 µg/ml, Collaborative Research). The dishes were placed in a humidified incubator at 26°C, and the cells were maintained for a minimum of 5 days and a maximum of 7 days in culture.

Culture medium

The following were added to 500 ml of Leibovitz's L15 medium (GIBCO): 10% FBS, 185 mg {alpha}-ketoglutaric acid, 200 mg fructose, 350 mg glucose, 335 mg malic acid, 30 mg succinic acid, 1.4 g TC Yeastolate, 1.4 g lactalbumin hydrolysate, 0.01 mg niacin, 30 mg imidazole, 100 µg/ml streptomycin, 100 units/ml penicillin, 1 µg/ml 20-hydroxyecdysone (Sigma), and 2.5 ml stable vitamin mix (Mains and Patterson 1973Go). A 5-ml stock solution of vitamin mix consists of 15 mg aspartic acid, 15 mg cystine, 5 mg {beta}-alanine, 0.02 mg biotin, 2 mg vitamin B12, 10 mg inositol, 10 mg choline chloride, 0.05 mg lipoic acid, 5 mg p-aminobenzoic acid, 25 mg fumaric acid, 0.4 mg coenzyme A, 15 mg glutamic acid, and 0.5 mg phenol red. The medium was adjusted to pH 7 and 350 mOsm and filter-sterilized prior to use. The majority of recordings reported in this study were from Rick Rack (RR) neurons and Proximal Branching (PB) neurons, two morphologically distinct sets of AL neurons in vitro identified elsewhere as putative projection (output) neurons and putative local interneurons, respectively (Hayashi and Hildebrand 1990Go; Oland and Hayashi 1993Go). Because no cell-type specific differences were identified in this study, details of cell morphology are not included in this paper.

AL neurons in situ

Electrical activity was also examined in developing projection (output) neurons in situ using semi-intact brain preparations (Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer and Hildebrand 2002aGo). The cell bodies of these neurons (n = 5) were located in the medial group of AL neuronal somata. To aid the removal of glial cells that envelop the somata, the brain was placed for 3–5 min in enzyme (0.5 mg/ml collagenase and 2 mg/ml Dispase). The preparation was rinsed thoroughly with insect saline solution (see Electrophysiological recording) and mounted with fine pins in a dish lined with Sylgard (Dow Corning).

Electrophysiological recording

Patch-clamp recordings in whole cell configuration (Hamill et al. 1981Go) were used to examine the electrical properties of AL neurons. Electrodes with resistances of 1–2 M{Omega} were made from borosilicate glass (100-µl micropipettes, 1.71 mm OD, 1.32 mm ID; VWR Scientific, West Chester, CA) and filled with a solution containing (in mM) 150 K-aspartate, 5 NaCl, 2 MgCl2, 1 CaCl2, 11 EGTA, and 10 HEPES (pH7), and adjusted to 330 mOsM with mannitol. Cells were viewed with an IMT-2 inverted microscope (Olympus) equipped with Hoffman modulation contrast optics. To facilitate the formation of high-resistance (gigaohm) seals, culture medium was replaced with insect saline solution containing (in mM) 100 NaCl, 4 KCl, 6 CaCl2, 5 D-glucose, and 10 HEPES (pH 7), adjusted to 360 mOsm with mannitol, prior to recording. Cells were continuously superfused with fresh saline solution throughout the recording period, and junction potentials were nullified prior to seal formation. To obtain whole cell recordings, light suction and brief high-voltage pulses were used to rupture the cell membrane beneath the recording electrode. Recordings were made using an AxoPatch 1B amplifier (Axon Instruments, Union City, CA), and data were acquired and analyzed using pClamp 6 software (version 6.02, Axon Instruments). Membrane responses were sampled at intervals of 100 µs and were filtered at 2 kHz with a low-pass 4-pole Bessel filter. Linear leakage currents were subtracted on-line from all records. Electrical activity and plateau potential properties of the cells were examined under current clamp. Recordings under voltage clamp were used to identify currents underlying the generation of plateau potentials in the cells.

Identification of plateau potential mechanisms

The following tests described by Russell and Hartline (1982)Go were used to confirm the presence of plateau-potential mechanisms in developing Manduca AL neurons.

1) Trigger test: brief (20 ms) depolarizing current pulses (0.05–2 nA) were used to identify cells in which it was possible to trigger plateau potentials.

2) Termination test: in cells in which a plateau state could be generated, brief (20 ms) hyperpolarizing current pulses (ca. –0.5 nA) were used to terminate the plateau; to clearly show that termination was induced by injection of hyperpolarizing current, the timing of the hyperpolarizing pulse in successive episodes was shifted progressively closer to the triggering pulse.

3) Threshold test: the pulses used to trigger (0.05–2 nA) or to terminate (–0.05 to –1.0 nA) the plateau state were varied in amplitude systematically to determine whether the triggering and terminating of firing states were threshold phenomena.

4) All-or-none test: stimulus intensity was also varied systematically to determine whether responses were "all-or-none" or graded with stimulus intensity.

5) Symmetrical pulse test: responses to brief (20 ms) symmetrical positive and negative current pulses were compared with examine whether positive (depolarizing) pulses would produce a greater response than negative (hyperpolarizing) pulses in cells exhibiting plateau properties.

Pharmacological analysis of plateau potentials

Routine pharmacological techniques were used to examine the contribution of ionic currents to the generation and maintenance of plateau potentials in the cells. Na+ currents were blocked with TTX (10–7 M) and Ca2+ currents with 5 x 10–4 M CdCl2. In Na+-free solutions, NaCl was replaced with Tris-Cl, and in Ca2+-free solutions, CaCl2 was replaced with BaCl2. K+ currents were blocked by adding 3 x 10–2 M TEA to the solution bathing the cells. Effects on plateau potential formation of bath application of 5HT (50 µM), which reduces K+ current amplitudes in the cells (Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go,1996bGo), were also examined in this study.

Data analysis

Effects of drug treatment on plateau potential properties (amplitude, duration, and membrane repolarization rate) were examined by comparing measurements taken prior to drug treatment (control) with measurements from the same cells 2–5 min after drug application. For pairwise comparisons, two-tailed Student's t-test were used to assess statistical significance. A significance level of 0.05 was accepted for all tests. Data are presented as means ± SD.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Plateau potential properties

Prolonged depolarizations resembling plateau potentials were observed in AL neurons in vitro (Fig. 1A) and in situ, in semi-intact brain preparations (e.g., Fig. 8Bi). The following results confirm the presence of plateau potential–generating mechanisms in these neurons.



View larger version (23K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 1. Electrical activity recorded from an isolated Manduca antennal-lobe (AL) neuron in vitro in the absence of any electrical stimulation. Activity is characterized by prolonged depolarization of the membrane from rest (ca. –50 mV) to a plateau potential around –36 mV. Recordings were obtained in 1,600-ms episodes using pClamp6 acquisition software. Recordings shown are from a pupal stage-10 neuron maintained in vitro for 5 days. A: activity observed over a total recording period of ~53 s (33 episodes). Eleven successive episodes have been superimposed in each panel to show the spontaneous appearance of electrical activity over time. Bursts of activity are characterized by prolonged periods of membrane depolarization carrying trains of action potentials. Not all spontaneous depolarizations trigger entry into the plateau state (e.g., see arrows). B: spontaneous activity is blocked by treatment with Cd2+.

 


View larger version (22K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 8. Promotion of plateau potential formation by 5HT. A: recording from a cell late in metamorphosis (stage 16) maintained 6 days in vitro. Brief pulses of depolarizing current alone fail to trigger plateau potentials in the neuron (Ai). Bath application of 5HT (50 µM) promoted the cell's entry into a stable depolarized (plateau) state. Bi: electrical activity recorded from a stage-12 AL neuron in situ in a semi-intact brain preparation. Recordings were obtained in 3-s episodes using pClamp6 acquisition software with a minimum (0) time interval selected between episodes. Ten successive episodes have been superimposed in each panel to show the spontaneous appearance of electrical activity over time. Activity is characterized by prolonged periods of membrane depolarization (plateau potentials) carrying bursts of action potentials. Bii: increased cell excitability following exposure of the preparation to 5HT (50 µM). 5HT was bath applied for 2.5 min prior to taking this 30-s recording. The preparation was immediately washed in 5HT-free saline. Biii: spontaneous activity recorded after washing the preparation for 10 min in 5HT-free saline.

 
AL neurons in vitro exhibited prolonged depolarizations in response to brief (20 ms) pulses of depolarizing current (Fig. 2A). The responses showed signs of regenerative origin, growing after the end of the stimulus and outlasting the stimulus by significant amounts of time. Plateau potential properties recorded from cells in vitro at stages 6 to 8 of metamorphosis (n = 15) are shown in Table 1A. The plateau potential properties of stage-10 cells in situ (n = 4) are included for comparison (Table 1B). For cells in vitro, plateau potential amplitudes ranged from 8 to 29 mV (16 ± 7.3 mV). The duration of the plateau varied considerably, ranging from ~400 ms to several seconds, and was longest in cells at early stages of development. The rate of repolarization of the cell membrane after termination of the plateau was typically slow (<0.03 mV/ms, Table 1A). While similar properties were observed in cells in situ (Table 1B), the plateau potentials in these more mature (stage-10) neurons were generally shorter in duration (however, see Fig. 8). Triggering of the plateau state was a threshold phenomenon, with subthreshold pulses producing no change in state (Fig. 2B). Above threshold, however, the depolarizing level of the plateau was independent of stimulus strength (Fig. 2C).



View larger version (24K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 2. Tests used to confirm the presence of plateau potential–generating mechanisms in Manduca AL neurons. A: trigger test on a pupal stage-10 AL neuron maintained 7 days in vitro. A brief depolarizing current pulse (20 ms, 1 nA) triggers a plateau state. Response grows after the end of stimulus and outlasts stimulus by a significant amount of time. B: threshold test on a pupal stage-6 AL neuron maintained 7 days in vitro. Pulses used to trigger plateau state were varied in amplitude systematically from 0.2 to 1.0 nA. Ten episodes have been superimposed to show that triggering of the firing state is a threshold phenomenon. C: all-or-none test on a pupal stage-6 AL neuron maintained 5 days in vitro. Six episodes have been superimposed to show that, above threshold, responses to depolarizing current pulses are "all-or-none" and not graded with stimulus intensity.

 

View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
TABLE 1. Plateau-potential properties

 
Consistent with the presence of plateau mechanisms, symmetrical depolarizing and hyperpolarizing pulses of short-duration (20 ms) produced asymmetrical responses in Manduca AL neurons, with depolarizing current pulses producing greater responses (Fig. 3A). Once triggered, the plateau state could be terminated by brief (20 ms) hyperpolarizing current pulses (Fig. 3B). Plateau-potential termination was also a threshold phenomenon, because subthreshold pulses produced no change in state (Fig. 3C).



View larger version (23K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 3. A: symmetrical pulse test on a pupal stage-8 AL neuron maintained 7 days in vitro. Symmetrical positive and negative current pulses (±0.6 nA) produce asymmetrical responses, the positive (depolarizing) pulse producing a greater response. B: termination test on a pupal stage-6 AL neuron maintained 6 days in vitro. In cells in which a plateau state could be generated, brief hyperpolarizing current pulses (–1.0 nA, 20 ms) terminated the plateau. Five episodes have been superimposed to show the effects in successive episodes of shifting the timing of the hyperpolarizing pulse progressively closer to the triggering pulse. C: termination threshold test on a pupal stage-6 AL neuron maintained 6 days in vitro. Pulses (250 ms) used to terminate the plateau state were varied in amplitude systematically from –0.1 to –0.6 nA. Six episodes have been superimposed to show that termination of the firing state is a threshold phenomenon.

 
In some but not all AL neurons, rebound excitation from prolonged hyperpolarizing current pulses could also be used to generate plateau potentials. In cells in which a depolarizing sag toward the resting membrane potential occurred during the hyperpolarizing current pulse, rebound excitation was observed at current termination (Fig. 4A, bottom trace). Recordings from 23 cells under voltage clamp revealed that, in 83% of the cells, hyperpolarizing voltage steps to membrane potentials negative to approximately –80 mV induced a slowly activating inward current that showed no inactivation during the 1-s voltage step (Fig. 4B). This current could be blocked by bath application of 1–2 mM Cs+ (Fig. 4, B and C). Reducing the amplitude of this current with Cs+ inhibited the formation of plateau potentials using prolonged hyperpolarizing current pulses.



View larger version (46K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 4. Plateau potential formation resulting from prolonged (800 ms) hyperpolarizing current pulses. Recordings shown are from pupal stage-6 AL neurons maintained 7 days in vitro. A: responses to a series of hyperpolarizing current pulses (0.2 to –2 nA) recorded under current clamp. Entry into a plateau state using this form of stimulation was observed only in cells that showed a depolarizing sag toward the resting membrane potential during the hyperpolarizing pulse (bottom trace). Bi: switching to voltage clamp revealed that hyperpolarizing voltage steps greater than approximately –80 mV resulted in the activation of a slow inward current that showed no inactivation during the voltage step. In all recordings, the series resistance (calculated from the capacitative charging transient) was <5 MOhm. With maximum currents of <500 pA, the series resistance error should be <3 mV. No correction has been made for this error. Bii: bath application of Cs+ reduces amplitude of current. Ci and Cii: Cs+ reduces magnitude of the sag toward rest during the hyperpolarizing pulse reducing rebound excitation and inhibiting entry into the plateau state.

 
Ionic currents involved in the generation and maintenance of plateau potentials

NA+ CURRENTS. Bathing cells in Na+-free saline (Fig. 5A), or blocking Na+ channels with TTX (Fig. 5B), hyperpolarized the membrane, reducing the likelihood of triggering a plateau potential. However, if depolarizing current was used to return the membrane potential to the level recorded prior to the application of Na+-free saline or TTX (e.g., Fig. 5B), plateau potentials again could be reliably generated. While neither the formation nor the maintenance of plateau potentials was affected by removal of Na+ ions or blocking Na+ channels with TTX, the amplitude of spikes riding atop the plateau was reduced.



View larger version (24K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 5. Removing Na+ from the extracellular medium (A) or blocking Na+ channels with TTX (B) had no effect on the formation or maintenance of plateau potentials in the cells. Asterisk signifies that resting membrane potential has been maintained at the level recorded prior to application of TTX using current injection. C: CdCl2 blocks plateau potential formation (i and ii). Effects of Cd2+ were generally irreversible, but in a small number of cells, block of Ca2+ currents could be reversed by washing in Cd2+-free saline (iii and iv). Recordings shown are from pupal stage-8 (A) and stage-10 (B and C) AL neurons maintained 7 days in vitro.

 
CA2+ CURRENTS. Blocking Ca2+ currents in the cells with 500 µM CdCl2 completely inhibited the formation of plateau potentials (Fig. 5, Ci and Cii). The effects of CdCl2 could occasionally be reversed by washing cells in Cd2+-free saline (Fig. 5, Ciii and Civ). To examine whether influx of Ca2+ ions is also required for the termination of plateau potentials, Ca2+ in the medium bathing the cells was replaced with Ba2+. In Ba2+, the generation of regular oscillations of the membrane potential during the plateau phase was inhibited and the membrane became more depolarized than normal (Fig. 6A). This suggested that Ca2+-activated K+ currents regulate the level of depolarization and contribute to spike activity observed in cells in the plateau state. As plateau amplitudes were increased with Ba2+ toward potentials less negative than approximately –10 mV, the likelihood that they would terminate was greatly increased, and the rate of membrane repolarization following termination of the plateau state was enhanced (Fig. 6Aii; Table 2A). It is likely that this was caused by increased voltage inactivation of the Ca2+ channels.



View larger version (20K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 6. A: effects on plateau potential formation of replacing Ca2+ in the extracellular medium with Ba2+. Under barium, the generation of regular oscillations of the membrane during the plateau phase was inhibited, and the membrane became more depolarized than normal (Table 2A). As the plateau depolarized toward potentials less negative than approximately –10 mV, the likelihood that plateau potential would terminate was increased, and rate of membrane repolarization following termination of the plateau state was enhanced (arrows, Ai and Aii). B: effects of blocking K+ currents with 3 x 10–2 M TEA. Asterisk indicates that resting membrane potential was maintained with current injection at a level close to that recorded prior to TEA treatment. In the presence of TEA, membrane oscillations were blocked, and membrane potential during the plateau state became significantly more depolarized than normal (Table 2B). Duration of plateau potential was markedly reduced, and membrane repolarization following termination of the plateau (arrow) occurred more rapidly than normal. Recordings shown are from pupal stage-6 (A) and pupal stage-8 (B) AL neurons maintained in vitro for 5 and 6 days, respectively.

 

View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
TABLE 2. Effects on plateau-potential properties of replacing Ca2+ in the external medium with Ba2+ and blocking K+ currents with TEA

 
K+ CURRENTS. To examine the contribution of K+ currents to these events, cells (n = 4) were exposed to 3 x 10–2 M TEA (Fig. 6B). In the presence of TEA, membrane oscillations were blocked, and the membrane potential during the plateau state became significantly more depolarized than normal (Table 2B). In addition, plateau potential duration was reduced and membrane repolarization following plateau termination occurred at a significantly faster rate than normal (Table 2B), possibly induced by enhanced voltage inactivation of the Ca2+ currents. In the presence of TEA, termination of the plateau potential followed by rapid repolarization of the membrane commenced at voltages of between –12 and –2 mV (–7.25 ± 4.6 mV).

CA2+ CURRENTS IN ISOLATION. The contribution that Ca2+ currents make to the generation and maintenance of plateau potentials was investigated further by examining Ca2+ currents in isolation (Fig. 7A). Cells in which Na+ and K+ currents had been blocked (see METHODS) continued to exhibit prolonged membrane depolarization in response to brief pulses of depolarizing current (Fig. 7B; Table 3). Prior to termination of the plateau state, the membrane potential sagged toward rest before commencing rapid repolarization around a mean breakpoint voltage of –4.9 ± 1.07 mV. Influxes of Ca2+ were also recorded in these neurons in the absence of experimentally applied depolarizing current pulses (Fig. 7C). These "spontaneous" events were abolished by bath application of 500 µM CdCl2 (data not shown). Blockade of Ca2+ currents with Cd2+ also abolished the characteristic bursts of electrical activity observed in immature Manduca AL neurons (Fig. 1B).



View larger version (26K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
FIG. 7. Ca2+ currents and Ca2+-dependent membrane depolarizations in Manduca AL neurons. Ca2+ currents were isolated pharmacologically as described in METHODS. A: depolarizing voltage steps were used to activate voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in a cell examined under voltage clamp. Ca2+ currents in Manduca AL neurons activate around –40 mV and peak at approximately –10 mV (Mercer et al. 1995Go 2002bGo). B: current-clamp recording showing potentials resulting from Ca2+ influx triggered using brief (20 ms) pulses of depolarizing current. Pulses of depolarizing current greater than ~0.3 nA triggered long-lasting membrane depolarizations that were remarkably stable in amplitude and duration. C: spontaneous long-lasting membrane depolarizations resulting from Ca2+ influx occurring in the absence of external stimulation. Recordings shown are from pupal stage-10 AL neurons maintained 7 days in vitro.

 

View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
 
TABLE 3. Plateau potentials resulting from Ca2+ currents in isolation

 
Developmental changes in cell excitability

At late stages of development (stages 12–18), it became increasingly difficult to elicit plateau potentials using brief pulses of depolarizing current alone (e.g., Fig. 8Ai). This change in excitability seemed to be associated with the appearance in the whole cell current profile of prominent, rapidly activating, transient K+ currents (see Mercer and Hildebrand 2002a, bGo). We have shown elsewhere that these K+ currents can be reduced in amplitude by exposing cells to the neuromodulator 5HT (Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go, 1996bGo), and we hypothesized that 5HT-induced reduction of outward currents would enhance plateau potential formation in cells at late stages of metamorphosis. To examine this possibility, 5HT (50 µM) was bath-applied for ~1–5 min to cells in vitro (stages 14–16; n = 4) or in situ in semi-intact preparations (stage 12; n = 2).

5HT alone did not trigger plateau potentials (data not shown). However, in three of four cells in vitro in which brief (20–200 ms) depolarizing pulses failed to trigger plateau potentials prior to 5HT treatment (Fig. 8Ai), prolonged exposure to 5HT (>3 min) not only increased the number of action potentials elicited by depolarizing current pulses (described in detail elsewhere; Kloppenburg and Heinbockel 2000Go; Kloppenburg and Hildebrand 1995Go; Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go, 1996bGo) but also promoted the cell's entry into a plateau state (Fig. 8Aii). Cells in situ exhibiting bursts of electrical activity also responded to 5HT with increases both in the number of spikes and in the number and duration of plateau potentials recorded in the cells (Fig. 8B).


    DISCUSSION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Manduca AL neurons exhibit plateau potential properties

Developing Manduca AL neurons generate prolonged membrane depolarizations that resemble plateau potentials. Here we show that this is an intrinsic property and that it depends on the influx of Ca2+ ions. To confirm the presence of plateau-generating mechanisms, we performed several key tests (Russell and Hartline 1982Go), including the trigger test, termination test, threshold test, all-or-none test, and symmetrical pulse test. We showed that brief pulses of depolarizing current trigger a plateau state and that plateau potentials can be terminated using brief pulses of hyperpolarizing current. Triggering and terminating of plateau potentials in these cells are threshold phenomena, and both triggering and terminating stimuli result in "all-or-none" responses that show no change in magnitude as stimulus intensity is increased.

Rebound excitation can also trigger entry into a plateau state

In cells in which plateau potentials could be triggered using the rebound excitation from prolonged pulses of hyperpolarizing current, time-dependent rectification produced a depolarizing sag toward the resting membrane potential during the hyperpolarizing pulse. Our results suggest that this rectification is caused by a slowly activating inward current that is activated by hyperpolarization. Slow deactivation of this current on cessation of the hyperpolarizing current pulse could underlie the rebound excitation that triggers the generation of a plateau potential, presumably through the activation of Ca2+ channels in the cells. Full characterization of this hyperpolarization-activated current in Manduca AL neurons awaits further investigation, but its properties, including its sensitivity to blockade by Cs+, resemble those of the hyperpolarization-activated inward current, Ih, described already in many vertebrate and invertebrate neurons (Kiehn and Harris-Warrick 1992bGo; McCormick and Pape 1990Go; Pape 1996Go).

Plateau potentials depend on the influx of Ca2+ ions

Blocking Ca2+ currents in the cells with Cd2+ not only prevented the generation of plateau potentials but also abolished bursts of electrical activity in developing Manduca AL neurons. This indicates that both depend on the activation of Ca2+ channels in the cells. Our results indicate, however, that, in contrast to the formation and maintenance of plateau potentials, termination of the plateau state is not Ca2+ mediated. Replacement of Ca2+ with Ba2+ reduced the duration of plateau potentials, suggesting that their termination is unlikely to involve Ca2+-mediated inactivation of Ca2+ channels (e.g., Gutnick et al. 1989Go). Our results suggest also that termination of plateau potentials can occur independently of K+ channel activation, because blocking K+ currents with TEA reduced the duration of the plateau state and increased rather than decreased the rate of membrane repolarization. It seems likely that, in the absence (or severe reduction) of K+ channel activation, sustained depolarization inactivates Ca2+ currents that maintain the plateau state.

While activation of K+ channels does not seem to be essential for terminating plateau potentials, we assume that, under normal conditions, K+ channel activation will contribute to membrane repolarization. In the presence of TEA, however, the voltage at which the membrane commences rapid repolarization (the plateau inactivation voltage or "breakpoint") is determined primarily by the voltage dependence of the Ca2+ channels (Reuveni et al. 1993Go). Ca2+ currents in Manduca AL neurons activate around –40 mV and peak around –10 mV (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002bGo; Mercer et al. 1995Go). They are characterized by relatively slow inactivation but undergo steady-state inactivation, being 100% available at –100 mV, 50% available at approximately –40 mV, and fully inactivated at –10 mV and above. The voltage-dependent activation and inactivation properties of these currents are similar to those of Ca2+ currents described in other insect preparations, including fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Baines and Bate 1998Go; Byerly and Leung 1988Go), cricket Gryllus bimaculatus (Kloppenburg and Hörner 1998Go), and honey bee Apis mellifera (Grünewald 2003Go; Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Schäfer et al. 1994Go). Plateau inactivation voltages recorded in this study under TEA (–7.25 ± 4.6 mV) and for Ca2+ currents in isolation (–5.53 ± 0.4 mV) are consistent also with the voltage-dependent properties reported for Ca2+ currents in developing Manduca leg motoneurons (Grünewald and Levine 1998Go; Hayashi and Levine 1992Go), as well as in AL neurons of the moth (Mercer and Hildebrand 2002bGo; Mercer et al. 1995Go). Taken together, our results indicate that voltage-activated Ca2+ currents contribute fundamentally to the bistable properties of developing Manduca AL neurons.

Persistent or slowly inactivating Ca2+ currents contribute in a similar way to the maintenance of depolarized plateau potentials in vertebrate neurons (e.g., Carlin et al. 2000Go; Perrier and Hounsgaard 2000Go; Seamans et al. 1997Go; Vergara et al. 2003Go) and the bistable properties of these neurons allow transient depolarizing inputs, including synaptic inputs, to produce prolonged depolarizations and sustained periods of spiking activity (Kiehn and Eken 1998Go; Reuveni et al. 1993Go). Slowly inactivating Na+ currents can play a similar role (Hsiao et al. 1998Go; Larkum et al. 2001Go; Schwindt and Crill 1998Go). However, while there is preliminary evidence to suggest that persistent Na+ currents are expressed in some insect neurons (e.g., Mercer and Hildebrand 2002bGo; Schäfer et al. 1994Go), we could find no evidence in this study that Na+ currents play a role in the formation or maintenance of plateau potentials in Manduca AL neurons. Neither the amplitude nor the duration of plateau potentials was altered by removal of Na+ ions from the external medium or by blocking Na+ channels in these cells with TTX.

5HT promotes the formation and maintenance of plateau potentials

A readily identifiable 5HT-immunoreactive neuron invades developing AL glomeruli at pupal stage 6 (Kent et al. 1987Go; Oland et al. 1995Go). Ultrastructural studies have shown that, within the glomeruli of adult ALs, most contacts involving this neuron are output synapses (Sun et al. 1993Go). 5HT applied exogenously to AL neurons in vitro, in situ in semi-intact brain preparations, and in vivo in the brain of the adult moth increases the excitability of AL neurons, exerting its effects through the modulation of K+ currents in the cells (Kloppenburg and Heinbockel 2000Go; Kloppenburg and Hildebrand 1995Go; Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go, 1996bGo). Here we show that, while plateau potentials cannot be triggered by 5HT alone, this neuromodulator increases the likelihood that depolarizing current pulses (and presumably synaptic input) will trigger a cell's entry into a plateau state. This is reminiscent of other cell types, including vertebrate motoneurons that, in the presence of neuromodulators such as 5HT and norepinephrine, can be shifted between two stable modes of firing (Eken and Kiehn 1989Go; Hounsgaard and Kiehn 1989Go). This property endows the neurons with a mechanism for translating brief synaptic inputs into long-lasting motor output (reviewed by Kiehn and Eken 1998Go). 5HT has been shown to increase the excitability of motoneurons in several ways, including through the enhancement of the inward rectifier current, Ih (Kjaerulff and Kiehn 2001Go). Plateau properties in crustacean motor neurons can also be induced through a dual-conductance mechanism involving 5HT modulation of hyperpolarization-activated inward current, Ih, and Ca2+-dependent outward current (Kiehn and Harris-Warrick 1992a, bGo). We have shown elsewhere that, in Manduca AL neurons, 5HT modulates a transient A-type current as well as a sustained K+ current that resembles the delayed rectifier, IKV (Kloppenburg et al. 1999Go; Mercer et al. 1995Go, 1996bGo). However, effects of 5HT on Ca2+-activated K+ currents and the hyperpolarization-activated inward current observed in this study have yet to be determined. Whether 5HT modulates Ca2+ currents in developing Manduca AL neurons that show bursts of electrical activity also remains unclear.

Functional significance

There is compelling evidence that early forms of electrical excitability regulate neuronal growth and differentiation (e.g., Baines et al. 2001Go; Gu and Spitzer 1980Go; Kater and Mills 1991Go; Kater et al. 1988Go; Schilling et al. 1991Go; Spitzer et al. 1995Go, 2002Go) and contribute also to activity-dependent tuning of neuronal connections (e.g., Katz and Shatz 1996Go; Ruthazer and Stryker 1996Go; Shatz 1994Go; Sherrard and Bower 1998Go). In embryonic Periplaneta neurons, as in vertebrate neurons (e.g., Gallo et al. 1987Go; Koike et al. 1989Go; Toescu 1999Go), Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels influences both the survival and differentiation of neurons in culture (Benquet et al. 2001Go), and in Manduca, elegant studies by Duch and Levine (2000Go, 2002Go) suggest that Ca2+ spikes play a key role in postembryonic dendritic remodeling of motor neurons. Here we show that developing AL neurons generate Ca2+-mediated plateau potentials and that influx of Ca2+ ions underlies the characteristic bursts of electrical activity in these cells. The bistable properties of Manduca AL neurons should enable transient depolarizing synaptic inputs to produce prolonged depolarizations and sustained periods of spiking activity, which may also occur spontaneously without exogenous trigger. Changes in intracellular Ca2+ levels resulting from such activity could trigger a diverse array of cellular responses, ranging from modulation of ion channels (Gutnick et al. 1989Go) to regulation of neuronal gene expression (Berridge 1998Go; Bito et al. 1997Go; Brosenitsch and Katz 2001Go; Finkbeiner and Greenberg 1998Go). It seems likely that sustained electrical activity in ALs of the moth during critical periods of glomerulus formation and synaptogenesis contribute to the development of this highly structured neuropil. Our results add support also to the growing body of evidence that serotonin contributes to both the development and plasticity of AL neurons in the moth.


    GRANTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
This work was supported by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Grant NS-28495 to J. G. Hildebrand and Otago Research Grant B07 to A. R. Mercer.


    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
We thank C. Turner and K. Miller for generous technical support and A. A. Osman for rearing of Manduca.


    FOOTNOTES
 
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: A. R. Mercer, Dept. of Zoology, 340 Great King St., Benham Bldg., Rm. 111, Dunedin, New Zealand (E-mail: alison.mercer{at}stonebow.otago.ac.nz)


    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 GRANTS
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 REFERENCES
 
Baines RA and Bate M. Electrophysiological development of central neurons in the Drosophila embryo. J Neurosci 18: 4673–4683, 1998.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Baines RA, Uhler JP, Thompson A, Sweeney ST, and Bate M. Altered electrical properties in Drosophila neurons developing without synaptic transmission. J Neurosci 21: 1523–1531, 2001.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Bell RA and Joachim FA. Techniques for rearing laboratory colonies of tobacco hornworms and pink bollworms. Ann Entomol Soc Am 69: 365–373, 1976.

Benquet P, Le Guen J, Pichon Y, and Tiaho F. Differential involvement of Ca2+ channels in survival and neurite outgrowth of cultured embryonic cockroach brain neurons. J Neurophysiol 88: 1475–1490, 2001.

Berridge MJ. Neuronal calcium signaling. Neuron 21: 13–26, 1998.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Bito H, Deisseroth K, and Tsien RW. Ca2+-dependent regulation in neuronal gene expression. Curr Opin Neurobiol 7: 419–429, 1997.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Brosenitsch TA and Katz DM. Physiological patterns of electrical stimulation can induce neuronal gene expression by activating N-type calcium channels. J Neurosci 21: 2571–2579, 2001.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Byerly L and Leung HT. Ionic currents of Drosophila neurons in embryonic cultures. J Neurosci 8: 4379–4393, 1988.[Abstract]

Carlin KP, Jones KE, Jiang Z, Jordan LM, and Brownstone RM. Dendritic L-type calcium currents in mouse spinal motoneurons: implications for bistability. Eur J Neurosci 12: 1635–1646, 2000.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Duch C and Levine RB. Remodeling of membrane properties and dendritic architecture accompanies the postembryonic conversion of a slow into a fast motoneuron. J Neurosci 20: 6950–6961, 2000.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Duch C and Levine RB. Changes in calcium signaling during postembryonic dendritic growth in Manduca sexta. J Neurophysiol 87: 1415–1425, 2002.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Eken T and Kiehn O. Bistable firing properties of soleus motor units in unrestrained rats. Acta Physiol Scand 136: 383–394, 1989.[Web of Science][Medline]

Finkbeiner S and Greenberg ME. Ca2+ channel-regulated neuronal gene expression. J Neurobiol 37: 171–189, 1998.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Gallo V, Kingsbury A, Balaz R, and Jorgensen OS. The role of depolarization in the survival and differentiation of cerebellar granule cells in culture. J Neurosci 7: 2203–2213, 1987.[Abstract]

Grünewald B. Differential expression of voltage-sensitive K+ and Ca2+ currents in neurons of the honeybee olfactory pathway. J Exp Biol 206: 117–129, 2003.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Grünewald B and Levine R. Ecdysteroid control of ionic current development in Manduca sexta motoneurons. J Neurobiol 37: 211–223, 1998.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Gu X and Spitzer NC. Distinct aspects of neuronal differentiation encoded by frequency of spontaneous calcium transients. Nature 375: 784–787, 1980.

Gutnick MJ, Lux HD, Swandulla D, and Zucker H. Voltage-dependent and calcium-dependent inactivation of calcium current in identified snail neurons. J Physiol 412: 197–220, 1989.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Hamill OP, Marty A, Neher E, Sakmann B, and Sigworth RF. Improved patch-clamp techniques for high-resolution current recording from cell-free membrane patches. Pfluegers 391: 85–100, 1981.

Hayashi JH and Hildebrand JG. Insect olfactory neurons in vitro: morphological and physiological characterization of cells from the developing antennal lobes of Manduca sexta. J Neurosci 10: 848–859, 1990.[Abstract]

Hayashi JH and Levine RB. Calcium and potassium currents in leg motoneurons during postembryonic development in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. J Exp Biol 171: 15–42, 1992.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Hildebrand JG. Metamorphosis of the insect nervous system: influences of the periphery on the postembryonic development of the antennal sensory pathway in the brain of Manduca sexta. In: Model Neural Networks and Behavior, edited by Selverston A. New York: Plenum, 1985, p. 129–148.

Hounsgaard J and Kiehn O. Serotonin-induced bistability of turtle motoneurons caused by a nifedipine-sensitive calcium plateau potential. J Physiol 414: 265–282, 1989.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Hsiao C, del Negro CA, Trueblood PR, and Chandler SH. Ionic basis for serotonin-induced bistable membrane properties in guinea pig trigeminal motoneurons. J Neurophysiol 79: 2847–2856, 1998.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kater SB, Mattson MP, Cohan C, and Connor J. Calcium regulation of neuronal growth cones. Trends Neurosci 11: 315–321, 1988.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Kater SB and Mills LR. Regulation of growth cone behavior by calcium. J Neurosci 11: 891–899, 1991.[Web of Science][Medline]

Katz LC and Shatz CJ. Synaptic activity and the construction of cortical circuits. Science 274: 1133–1138, 1996.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kent KS, Hoskins SG, and Hildebrand JG. A novel serotonin-immunoreactive neuron in the antennal lobe of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta persists throughout postembryonic life. J Neurobiol 18: 451–465, 1987.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Kiehn O and Eken T. Functional role of plateau potentials in vertebrate motor neurons. Curr Opin Neurobiol 8: 746–752, 1998.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Kiehn O and Harris-Warrick RM. Serotonergic stretch receptors induce plateau properties in a crustacean motor neuron by a dual-conductance mechanism. J Neurophysiol 68: 485–495, 1992a.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kiehn O and Harris-Warwick RM. 5HT modulation of hyperpolarization-activated inward current and calcium-dependent outward current in a crustacean motor neuron. J Neurophysiol 68: 496–508, 1992b.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kjaerulff O and Kiehn O. 5-HT modulation of multiple inward rectifiers in motoneurons in intact preparations of the neonatal rat spinal cord. J Neurophysiol 85: 580–593, 2001.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kloppenburg P, Ferns D, and Mercer AR. Serotonin enhances central olfactory neuron responses to female sex pheromone in the male sphinx moth Manduca sexta. J Neurosci 19: 8172–8181, 1999.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Kloppenburg P and Heinbockel T. 5-Hydroxytryptamine modulates pheromone-evoked local field potentials in the macroglomerular complex of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. J Exp Biol 203: 1701–1709, 2000.[Abstract]

Kloppenburg P and Hildebrand JG. Neuromodulation by 5-hydroxytryptamine in the antennal lobe of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. J Exp Biol 198: 603–611, 1995.[Abstract]

Kloppenburg P and Hörner M. Voltage-activated currents in identified giant interneurons isolated from adult crickets Gryllus bimaculatus. J Exp Biol 201: 2529–2541, 1998.[Abstract]

Kloppenburg P, Kirchhof BS, and Mercer AR. Voltage-activated currents from adult honeybee (Apis mellifera) antennal motoneurons recorded in vitro and in situ. J Neurophysiol 81:39–48, 1999.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Koike T, Martin DP, and Johnson EM. Role of Ca2+ channels in the ability of membrane depolarization to prevent neuronal death induced by trophic factor deprivation: evidence that levels of internal Ca2+ determine the growth factor dependence of sympathetic ganglion cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86: 6421–6425, 1989.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Larkum ME, Zhu JJ, and Sakmann B. Dendritic mechanisms underlying the coupling of the dendritic with the axonal action potential initiation zone of adult rat layer 5 pyramidal neurons. J Physiol 533: 447–466, 2001.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Mains RE and Patterson PH. Primary cultures of dissociated sympathetic neurons. I. Establishment of long-term growth in culture and studies of differentiated properties. J Cell Biol 59: 329–345, 1973.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Malun D, Oland LA, and Tolbert LP. Uniglomerular projection neurons participate in early development of olfactory glomeruli in the moth, Manduca sexta. J Comp Neurol 347: 1–22, 1994.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

McCormick DA and Pape H-C. Properties of a hyperpolarization-activated cation current and its role in rhythmic oscillation in thalamic relay neurons. J Physiol 431: 291–318, 1990.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Mercer AR, Hayashi JH, and Hildebrand JG. Modulatory effects of serotonin on voltage-activated currents in cultured antennal lobe neurons of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. J Exp Biol 198: 613–627, 1995.[Abstract]

Mercer AR and Hildebrand JG. Developmental changes in the electrophysiological properties and response characteristics of antennal-lobe neurons in the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. J Neurophysiol 87: 2650–2663, 2002a.

Mercer AR and Hildebrand JG. Developmental changes in the density of voltage-gated and calcium-dependent ionic currents in antennal-lobe neurons of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. J Neurophysiol 87: 2664–2675, 2002b.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Mercer AR, Kirchhof BS, and Hildebrand JG. Enhancement by serotonin of the growth in vitro of antennal lobe neurons of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. J Neurobiol 29: 49–64, 1996a.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Mercer AR, Kloppenburg P, and Hildebrand JG. Serotonin-induced changes in the excitability of cultured antennal-lobe neurons of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta. J Comp Physiol A 178: 21–31, 1996b.[Medline]

Oland LA and Hayashi JH. Effects of the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone and prior sensory input on the survival and growth of moth central olfactory neurons in vitro. J Neurobiol 24: 1170–1186, 1993.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Oland LA, Kirschenbaum SR, Pott WM, Mercer AR, and Tolbert LP. Development of an identified serotonergic neuron in the antennal lobe of the moth and effects of reduction in serotonin during construction of olfactory glomeruli. J Neurobiol 28: 248–267, 1995.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Oland LA, Pott WM, Bukhman G, Sun XJ, and Tolbert LP. Activity blockade does not prevent the construction of olfactory glomeruli in the moth Manduca sexta. Int J Dev Neurosci 14: 983–996, 1996.

Pape H-C. Queer current and pacemaker: the hyperpolarization-activated cation current in neurons. Annu Rev Physiol 58: 299–327, 1996.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Perrier JF and Hounsgaard J. Development and regulation of response properties in spinal cord motoneurons. Brain Res Bull 53: 529–535, 2000.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Reuveni I, Friedman A, Amitai Y, and Gutnick MJ. Stepwise repolarization from Ca2+ plateaus in neocortical pyramidal cells: evidence for nonhomogeneous distribution of HVA Ca2+ channels in dendrites. J Neurosci 13: 4609–4621, 1993.[Abstract]

Russell DF and Hartline DK. Slow active potentials and bursting motor patterns in pyloric network of the lobster, Panulirus interruptus. J Neurophysiol 48: 914–937, 1982.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Ruthazer ES and Stryker MP. The role of activity in the development of long-range horizontal connections in area 17 of the ferret. J Neurosci 16: 7253–7269, 1996.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Sanes JR and Hildebrand JG. Structure and development of antennae in a moth, Manduca sexta. Dev Biol 51: 282–299, 1976a.[CrossRef][Web of Science]

Sanes JR and Hildebrand JG. Origin and morphogenesis of sensory neurons in an insect antenna. Dev Biol 51: 300–319, 1976b.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Schäfer S, Rosenboom H, and Menzel R. Ionic currents of Kenyon cells from the mushroom body of the honeybee. J Neurosci 14: 4600–4612, 1994.[Abstract]

Schilling K, Dickinson MH, Connor JA, and Morgan JI. Electrical activity in cerebellar cultures determines Purkinje cell dendritic growth patterns. Neuron 7: 891–902, 1991.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Schwindt PC and Crill WE. Synaptically evoked dendritic action potentials in rat neocortical pyramidal neurons. J Neurophysiol 79: 2432–2446, 1998.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Seamans JK, Gorelova NA, and Yang CR. Contributions of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the proximal versus distal dendrites to synaptic integration in prefrontal cortical neurons. J Neurosci 17: 5936–5948, 1997.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Shatz CJ. Role for spontaneous activity in the patterning of connections between retina and LGN during visual system development. Int J Dev Neurosci 12: 531–546, 1994.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Sherrard RM and Bower AJ. Role of afferents in the development and cell survival of the vertebrate nervous system. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 25: 487–495, 1998.[Web of Science][Medline]

Spitzer NC, Kingston PA, Manning TJ, and Conklin MW. Outside and in: development of neuronal excitability. Curr Opin Neurobiol 12: 315–323, 2002.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Spitzer NC, Olson E, and Gu X. Spontaneous calcium transients regulate neuronal plasticity in developing neurons. J Neurobiol 26: 316–324, 1995.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Sun XJ, Tolbert LP, and Hildebrand JG. Ramification pattern and ultrastructural characteristic of the serotonin immunoreactive neuron in the antennal lobe of the moth Manduca sexta: a laser scanning confocal and electron microscopic study. J Comp Neurol 338: 5–16, 1993.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Toescu EC. Activity of voltage-operated calcium channels in rat cerebellar granule neurons and neuronal survival. Neuroscience 94: 561–570, 1999.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

Tolbert LP, Matsumoto SG, and Hildebrand JG. Development of synapses in the antennal lobes of the moth Manduca sexta during metamorphosis. J Neurosci 3: 1158–1175, 1983.[Web of Science][Medline]

Vergara R, Rick C, Hernandez-Lopez S, Laville JA, Guzman JN, Galarraga E, and Surmeier DJ. Spontaneous voltage oscillations in striatal projection neurons in a rat corticostriatal slice. J Physiol 553: 169–182, 2003.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Neurophysiol.Home page
K. E. Gardam and N. S. Magoski
Regulation of Cation Channel Voltage and Ca2+ Dependence by Multiple Modulators
J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2009; 102(1): 259 - 271.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Neurophysiol.Home page
A. Y. Hung and N. S. Magoski
Activity-Dependent Initiation of a Prolonged Depolarization in Aplysia Bag Cell Neurons: Role for a Cation Channel
J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2007; 97(3): 2465 - 2479.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
93/4/1949    most recent
01050.2004v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
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 Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mercer, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hildebrand, J. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mercer, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hildebrand, J. G.


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2005 by the The American Physiological Society.