title: Forward signaling by unipolar brush cells in the mouse cerebellum.
abstract: Unipolar brush cells (UBCs) are glutamatergic interneurons prominently present in the granular layer of the vestibulocerebellum. UBCs engage in extensive synaptic contact with a single presynaptic mossy fiber and signal to downstream granule cells through an elaborate network of mossy fiber-like axons. Ultrastructural examinations and electrophysiological recordings in organotypic slice cultures have indicated that UBCs target not only granule cells but also other UBCs, thus forming chains of two or perhaps more interconnected UBCs. In this report, we show recordings of spontaneous and evoked (di)synaptic events in granule cells and UBCs in fresh cerebellar slices from juvenile mice (5-7 weeks). The patterns of arrival of synaptic events were consistent with the presence of a presynaptic UBC, and recordings from UBCs displayed spontaneous protracted synaptic events characteristic of UBC excitatory synaptic transmission. These results highlight that chains of UBCs could further extend the temporal range of delayed and protracted signaling in the cerebellar cortical network.
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Stijn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Dorp
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. c.dezeeuw@erasmusmc.nl.|Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, NL-3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. c.dezeeuw@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Chris I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: De Zeeuw
mesh_terms: D018750:6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007395:Interneurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D018750:6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione
keywords: Electrophysiology; Patch clamp; Synaptic transmission; Vestibulocerebellum