Dendritic NMDA Receptors Activate Axonal Calcium Channels

NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation can alter synaptic strength by regulating transmitter release from a variety of neurons in the CNS. As NMDARs are permeable to Ca2+ and monovalent cations, they could alter release directly by increasing presynaptic Ca2+ or indirectly by axonal depolarization sufficient to activate voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCCs). Using two-photon microscopy to measure Ca2+ excursions, we found that somatic depolarization or focal activation of dendritic NMDARs elicited small Ca2+ transients in axon varicosities of cerebellar stellate cell interneurons. These axonal transients resulted from Ca2+ entry through VSCCs that were opened by the electrotonic spread of the NMDAR-mediated depolarization elicited in the dendrites. In contrast, we were unable to detect direct activation of NMDARs on axons, indicating an exclusive soma-todendritic expression of functional NMDARs. In cerebellar stellate cells, dendritic NMDAR activation masquerades as a presynaptic phenomenon and may influence Ca2+-dependent forms of presynaptic plasticity and release.