title: Dendritic calcium signaling in cerebellar Purkinje cell.
abstract: The Purkinje cells in the cerebellum are unique neurons that generate local and global Ca(2+) signals in response to two types of excitatory inputs, parallel fiber and climbing fiber, respectively. The spatiotemporal distribution and interaction of these synaptic inputs produce complex patterns of Ca(2+) dynamics in the Purkinje cell dendrites. The Ca(2+) signals originate from Ca(2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels and Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores that are mediated by the metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling pathway. These Ca(2+) signals are essential for the induction of various forms of synaptic plasticity and for controlling the input-output relationship of Purkinje cells. In this article we review Ca(2+) signaling in Purkinje cell dendrites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan. Electronic address: kkitamura@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kano
mesh_terms: D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology