title: Cell type-specific relationships between spiking and [Ca2+]i in neurons of the Xenopus tadpole olfactory bulb.
abstract: Multi-neuronal recordings with Ca2+ indicator dyes usually relate [Ca2+]i to action potentials (APs) assuming a stereotypical dependency between the two. However, [Ca2+]i affects and is affected by numerous complex mechanisms that differ from cell type to cell type, from cell compartment to cell compartment. Moreover, [Ca2+]i depends on the specific way a cell is activated. Here we investigate, by combining calcium imaging and on-cell patch clamp recordings, the relationship between APs (spiking) and somatic [Ca2+]i in mitral and granule cells of the olfactory bulb in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. Both cell types exhibit ongoing and odour-modulated [Ca2+]i dynamics. In mitral cells, the occurrence of APs in both spontaneous and odour-evoked situations correlates tightly to step-like [Ca2+]i increases. Moreover, odorant-induced suppression of spontaneous firing couples to a decrease in [Ca2+]i. In contrast, granule cells show a substantial number of uncorrelated events such as increases in [Ca2+]i without APs occurring or APs without any effect upon [Ca2+]i. The correlation between spiking and [Ca2+]i is low, possibly due to somatic NMDAR-mediated and subthreshold voltage-activated Ca2+ entries, and thus does not allow a reliable prediction of APs based on calcium imaging. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the relationship between somatic [Ca2+]i and APs can be cell type specific. Taking [Ca2+]i dynamics as an indicator for spiking activity is thus only reliable if the correlation has been established in the system of interest. When [Ca2+]i and APs are precisely correlated, fast calcium imaging is an extremely valuable tool for determining spatiotemporal patterns of APs in neuronal population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, University of Göttingen, Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Bei-Jung
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tsai-Wen
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Detlev
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schild
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000187:drug effects; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007424:Intracellular Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D007814:Larva / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009831:Olfactory Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002118:Calcium