Cerebellar modules operate at different frequencies.
Due to the uniform cyto-architecture of the cerebellar cortex, its overall physiological characteristics have traditionally been considered to be homogeneous. In this study, we show in awake mice at rest that spiking activity of Purkinje cells, the sole output cells of the cerebellar cortex, differs between cerebellar modules and correlates with their expression of the glycolytic enzyme aldolase C or zebrin. Simple spike and complex spike frequencies were significantly higher in Purkinje cells located in zebrin-negative than zebrin-positive modules. The difference in simple spike frequency persisted when the synaptic input to, but not intrinsic activity of, Purkinje cells was manipulated. Blocking TRPC3, the effector channel of a cascade of proteins that have zebrin-like distribution patterns, attenuated the simple spike frequency difference. Our results indicate that zebrin-discriminated cerebellar modules operate at different frequencies, which depend on activation of TRPC3, and that this property is relevant for all cerebellar functions.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02536.001.
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Haibo
H
Zhou
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Zhanmin
Z
Lin
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Kai
K
Voges
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Chiheng
C
Ju
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Zhenyu
Z
Gao
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Laurens W J
LW
Bosman
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Tom J H
TJ
Ruigrok
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Freek E
FE
Hoebeek
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands Cerebellar Coordination and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands c.dezeeuw@erasmusmc.nl.
Chris I
CI
De Zeeuw
Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands m.schonewille@erasmusmc.nl.
Martijn
M
Schonewille
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000502:physiology; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000378:metabolism
D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels; C104603:TRPC3 cation channel; C092565:zebrin I
Purkinje cells; TRPC3; cerebellar modules; cerebellum; zebrin II