title: Slow removal of Na(+) channel inactivation underlies the temporal filtering property in the teleost thalamic neurons.
abstract: It has been previously shown that the "large cell" in the corpus glomerulosum (CG) of a teleost brain has a low-pass temporal filtering property. It fires a single spike only in response to temporally sparse synaptic inputs and thus extracts temporal aspects of afferent activities. To explore the ionic mechanisms underlying this property, we quantitatively studied voltage-gated Na(+) channels of the large cell in the CG slice preparation of the marine filefish by means of whole-cell patch clamp recordings in the voltage-clamp mode. Recorded Na(+) current was well described using the Hodgkin-Huxley "m(3)h" model. It was revealed that the Na(+) channels have a novel feature: remarkably slow recovery from inactivation. In other words, the time constant for the "h" gate was extremely large (approximately 100 ms at -80 to -50 mV). In order to test whether the analysed Na(+) current serves as a mechanism for filtering, the behaviour of the membrane model incorporating the Na(+) channel was simulated using a computer program called NEURON. In response to current injections, the membrane model displayed low-pass filtering and firing properties similar to those reported in real cells. The present results suggest that slow removal of Na(+) channel inactivation serves as a crucial mechanism for the low-pass temporal filtering property of the large cell. The simulation study also suggested that velocity and/or amplitude of a spike propagating though an axon expressing Na(+) channels of this type could potentially be modulated depending on the preceding activities of the cells.
authors.affiliation: Misaki Marine Biological Station, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Misaki, Miura, Kanagawa 238-0225, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015222:Sodium Channels