Enhanced synaptic inhibition disrupts the efferent code of cerebellar Purkinje neurons in leaner Cav2.1 Ca 2+ channel mutant mice.

ABSTRACT: Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) encode afferent information in the rate and temporal structure of their spike trains. Both spontaneous firing in these neurons and its modulation by synaptic inputs depend on Ca(2+) current carried by Ca(v)2.1 (P/Q) type channels. Previous studies have described how loss-of-function Ca(v)2.1 mutations affect intrinsic excitability and excitatory transmission in PCs. This study examines the effects of the leaner mutation on fast GABAergic transmission and its modulation of spontaneous firing in PCs. The leaner mutation enhances spontaneous synaptic inhibition of PCs, leading to transitory reductions in PC firing rate and increased spike rate variability. Enhanced inhibition is paralleled by an increase in the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory

SUBMITTER: Ovsepian SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3627404 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature