Journal
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
Volume 569, Issue 2, Pages 545-557Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2005.098053
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NINDS NIH HHS [R01 NS050808] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purkinje cells, the sole output of the cerebellar cortex, encode the timing signals required for motor coordination in their firing rate and activity pattern. Dendrites of Purkinje cells express a high density of P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels and fire dendritic calcium spikes. Here we show that dendritic subthreshold Kv1.2 subunit-containing Kv1 potassium channels prevent generation of random spontaneous calcium spikes. With Kv1 channels blocked, dendritic calcium spikes drive bursts of somatic sodium spikes and prevent the cell from faithfully encoding motor timing signals. The selective dendritic function of Kv1 channels in Purkinje cells allows them to effectively suppress dendritic hyperexcitability without hindering the generation of somatic action potentials. Further, we show that Kv1 channels also contribute to dendritic integration of parallel fibre synaptic input. Kv1 channels are often targeted to soma and axon and the data presented support a major dendritic function for these channels.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available