ISSN:
1059-910X
Keywords:
Fluorescence microscopy
;
Ca channels
;
Pyramidal neurons
;
CA1 region
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
Notes:
Changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) within CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons were imaged using confocal laser scanning microscopy in conjunction with Ca2+ -sensitive fluorescent indicators. The imaging was performed in thick hippocampal brain slices while simultaneously measuring or controlling electrical activity with sharp microelectrodes or whole-cell patch-clamp electrodes. The combination of imaging and electrophysiology was essential for interpreting the changes in [Ca2+]i. We compared the increases in [Ca2+]i produced by either of two methods-direct depolarization of the cell via the somatic electrode or high-frequency stimulations of synaptic inputs. The increases in [Ca2+]i in the soma and proximal dendrites caused by both methods were of comparable magnitude and they always decayed within seconds in healthy cells. However, the spatial patterns of distal Ca2+ increases were different. Separate sets of synaptic inputs to the same cell resulted in different spatial patterns of [Ca2+]i transients. We isolated and observed what appeared to be a voltage-independent component of the synaptically mediated [Ca2+]i transients. This work demonstrates that the combination of neurophysiology and simultaneous confocal microscopy is well suited for visualizing and analyzing [Ca2+]i within neurons throughout the CNS and it raises the possibility of routinely relating subcellular [Ca2+]i changes to structural and functional modifications. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Additional Material:
7 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jemt.1070290404
