Differential cholinergic modulation of Ca2+ transients evoked by backpropagating action potentials in apical and basal dendrites of cortical pyramidal neurons

The effect of the cholinergic agonist carbachol (CCh) on backpropagating action potential (bAP)-evoked Ca2+ transients in distal apical and basal dendrites of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the primary visual cortex of rats was studied using whole cell recordings and confocal Ca2+ imaging. In the presence of CCh (20 mu M), initial bAP-evoked Ca2+ transients were followed by large propagating secondary Ca2+ transients that were restricted to proximal apical dendrites <= 40 mu m from the soma. In middle apical dendrites (41-100 mu m from the soma), Ca2+ transients evoked by AP bursts at 20 Hz, but not by single APs, were increased by CCh without secondary transients. CCh failed to increase the bAP-evoked Ca2+ transients in distal apical dendrites (101-270 mu m from the soma). In contrast, in basal dendrites, CCh increased Ca2+ transients evoked by AP bursts, but not by single APs, and these transients were relatively constant over the entire length of the dendrites. CCh further increased the enhanced bAP-evoked Ca2+ transients in the presence of 4-aminopyridine (200 mu M), an A-type K+ channel blocker, in basal and apical dendrites, except in distal apical dendrites. CCh increased large Ca2+ transients evoked by high-frequency AP bursts in basal dendrites, but not in distal apical dendrites. CCh-induced increase in Ca2+ transients was mediated by InsP(3)-dependent Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release. These results suggest that cholinergic stimulation differentially increases the bAP-evoked increase in [Ca2+](i) in apical and basal dendrites, which may modulate synaptic activities in a location-dependent manner.