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In vivo dendritic calcium dynamics in deep-layer cortical pyramidal neurons

Abstract

Dendritic Ca2+ action potentials in neocortical pyramidal neurons have been characterized in brain slices, but their presence and role in the intact neocortex remain unclear. Here we used two-photon microscopy to demonstrate Ca2+ electrogenesis in apical dendrites of deep-layer pyramidal neurons of rat barrel cortex in vivo. During whisker stimulation, complex spikes recorded intracellularly from distal dendrites and sharp waves in the electrocorticogram were accompanied by large dendritic [Ca2+] transients; these also occurred during bursts of action potentials recorded from somata of identified layer 5 neurons. The amplitude of the [Ca2+] transients was largest proximal to the main bifurcation, where sodium action potentials produced little Ca2+ influx. In some cases, synaptic stimulation evoked [Ca2+] transients without a concomitant action potential burst, suggesting variable coupling between dendrite and soma.

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Figure 1: Dendritic recordings from deep neocortical pyramidal neurons.
Figure 2: Relationship between dendritic complex spikes, [Ca2+] transients and ECoG spikes.
Figure 3: Simultaneous somatic recording and distal dendritic imaging from intrinsically bursting layer 5 neurons.
Figure 4: Sensory-evoked dendritic [Ca2+] transients in layer 5 neurons.
Figure 5: [Ca2+] transients in the apical dendrite and somatic bursts of APs can occur in isolation.
Figure 6: Spatial profile of distal dendritic [Ca2+] transients.

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Acknowledgements

We thank G. Major and S. S.-H. Wang for comments on the manuscript and B. Burbach for help with histology. This work was supported by Lucent Technologies and the Whitehall Foundation, grants to K.S. from the NIH, the Pew and the Klingenstein Foundations and fellowships to F.H. from the Max-Planck Society and the Human Frontier Science Program.

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Correspondence to Fritjof Helmchen.

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Helmchen, F., Svoboda, K., Denk, W. et al. In vivo dendritic calcium dynamics in deep-layer cortical pyramidal neurons. Nat Neurosci 2, 989–996 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/14788

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