title: Connexin36 mediates spike synchrony in olfactory bulb glomeruli.
abstract: Neuronal synchrony is important to network behavior in many brain regions. In the olfactory bulb, principal neurons (mitral cells) project apical dendrites to a common glomerulus where they receive a common input. Synchronized activity within a glomerulus depends on chemical transmission but mitral cells are also electrically coupled. We examined the role of connexin-mediated gap junctions in mitral cell coordinated activity. Electrical coupling as well as correlated spiking between mitral cells projecting to the same glomerulus was entirely absent in connexin36 (Cx36) knockout mice. Ultrastructural analysis of glomeruli confirmed that mitral-mitral cell gap junctions on distal apical dendrites contain Cx36. Coupled AMPA responses between mitral cell pairs were absent in the knockout, demonstrating that electrical coupling, not transmitter spillover, is responsible for synchronization. Our results indicate that Cx36-mediated gap junctions between mitral cells orchestrate rapid coordinated signaling via a novel form of electrochemical transmission.
authors.affiliation: Vollum Institute, Portland, Oregon, USA. christij@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bark
authors.forename: Sheriar G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hormuzdi
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Helbig
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Monyer
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Westbrook
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D017630:Connexins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000502:physiology*; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein
chemical_list: D017630:Connexins; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein