Postsynaptic induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) at cortical and thalamic afferent synapses onto lateral amygdala (LA) projection neurons not only involves NMDA receptor activation, but also depends on L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (L-VDCCs). Here we show, using whole cell recordings and two-photon Ca2+ imaging, that L-VDCCs contribute to the induction of dendritic Ca2+ spikes...

Ca2+-dependent facilitation (CDF) of voltage-gated calcium current is a powerful mechanism for up-regulation of Ca2+ influx during repeated membrane depolarization. CDF of L-type Ca2+ channels (Ca(v)1.2) contributes to the positive force-frequency effect in the heart and is believed to involve the activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII). How CaMKII is activated and what its s...

The mechanisms underlying short-term presynaptic facilitation, the enhancement of transmitter release from sensory neurons in Aplysia, induced by serotonin (5-HT), can be divided into two categories: (1) changes in ionic conductances leading to spike broadening and enhancement of Ca2+ influx; and (2) actions on the machinery for transmitter release that are independent of spike broadening and t...

1. The photolabile Ca2+ chelator DM-nitrophen was injected into crayfish motor neuron terminals and photolyzed with light flashes of different intensity to determine the cooperativity of Ca2+ action in releasing neurotransmitter. 2. Each flash elicited a phasic postsynaptic response resembling an excitatory junctional potential, apparently due to a presynaptic "spike" in intracellular calcium c...

AIMS Coupling factor 6 (CF6) induces hypertension by attenuating the endothelial generation of prostacyclin. However, intracellular signalling of CF6 in the resistance arteriole vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) that are directly related to vasoconstriction has not been determined. Here we investigated the direct effect of exogenous CF6 on Ca2+ signalling in cultured VSMCs and the in vivo ro...

Background. According to existing knowledge, thiacalix[4]arene С-1087 is highly capable of inhibiting Са2+-pump (Са2+, Mg2+-АТРase) the plasma membrane; at same time it inhibits functioning sarcoplasmic reticulum uterine smooth muscles some degree. The aim this research was study effects on concentration Ca2+ ions and contractile activity rat myometrium cells using an inhibitor – thapsigargin. ...

Recessive mutations in genes encoding voltage-gated Ca2+ channel subunits alter high-voltage-activated (HVA) calcium currents, impair neurotransmitter release, and stimulate thalamic low-voltage-activated (LVA) currents that contribute to a cortical spike-wave epilepsy phenotype in mice. We now report thalamic LVA current elevations in a non-Ca2+ channel mutant. EEG analysis of Coloboma (Cm/+),...

Vagal motoneurons in slices from the guinea-pig brain stem were injected with the fluorescent [Ca2+]i indicators fura-2, furaptra, or Calcium Green-1. Spike-induced fluorescence changes were measured in the soma and dendrites and simultaneously the long-lasting afterhyperpolarization was recorded with a sharp microelectrode in the soma. Na+ spikes or Ca2+ spikes increased [Ca2+]i (measured as a...

The temperature dependence of intrinsic membrane conductances and synaptic potentials in guinea pig hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons were examined in vitro as they were cooled from 37 degrees C to between 33 and 27 degrees C. Cooling reversibly increased resting input resistance in a voltage-independent manner (Q10 = 0.58 to 0.75). The amplitude and duration of orthodromically evoked action po...

We have examined the relationships between the modulation of transmitter release and of specific ionic currents by membrane potential in the cholinergic interneuron LIO of the abdominal ganglion of Aplysia californica. The presynaptic cell body was voltage-clamped under various pharmacological conditions and transmitter release from the terminals was assayed simultaneously by recording the syna...