Variant firing patterns in rat hippocampal pyramidal cells modulated by extracellular potassium

Calcium current activated by potassium ions in voltage-clamped rat hippocampal pyramidal neurones

1. Neuronal activity results in local elevation of extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o). 2. Using the patch-clamp technique in the whole-cell configuration, we investigated whether extracellular K+ activates non-voltage-operated Ca2+ channels in pyramidal cells cultured from rat embryonic hippocampi. 3. K+ (12 mM) reversibly activated a sustained inward current at a holding potential of -100 mV. Membrane conductance and variance of noise were significantly increased by K+. This current could be observed at membrane potentials negative to +60 mV. 4. Inhibitors of inward rectifier K+ channels and hyperpolarization-induced cation current reduced the current only at potentials negative to -50 mV. 5. The K+-induced current was activated in Na+-free but not in Ca2+-free medium, did not depend on cytosolic [Cl-], and was blocked by Cd2+ but not by organic channel inhibitors. 6. Half-maximal activation of the current (at -100 mV) was attained at [K+]o approximately 20 mM. 7. The current is similar to Igl, a K+-induced Ca2+ current described in glomerulosa cells. It was also present in pyramidal cells from prefrontal cortex but not in hippocampal bipolar and glial cells. 8. Activation of K+-induced Ca2+ current may elevate cytoplasmic [Ca2+] at [K+]o levels which are insufficent to activate voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels.

Corticosteroids influence the action potential firing pattern of hippocampal subfield CA3 pyramidal cells

Corticosteroids regulate gene expression through the activation of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors. The hippocampus contains the highest density of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors in the central nervous system. The modulation of neuron excitability by corticosteroids in hippocampal subfield CA1 is well documented. However, it is not known whether corticosteroids produce different effects across the various hippocampal subfields. Therefore, we used intracellular recording techniques to examine the actions of chronic corticosteroid treatment (2 weeks) on the electrophysiological properties of rat hippocampal subfield CA3 pyramidal cells. The treatment groups used in this investigation were: adrenalectomy (ADX), selective mineralocorticoid receptor activation with aldosterone (ALD), mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptor activation with high levels of corticosterone (HCT), and SHAM. Corticosteroid treatment altered the percentage of nonburst and burst firing neurons. The percentages of nonbursting cells were 74 and 62% in tissue from ADX and HCT animals compared to 42 and 41% in ALD and SHAM animals, respectively. The corticosteroid-induced effect on the ratio of nonbursting to bursting cells does not appear to be secondary to changes in the cell's membrane input resistance, resting potential, time constant, action potential, slow-or fast-afterhyperpolarizing potential properties. Based on these results we conclude that corticosteroids are important for maintaining the ratio of nonburst and burst firing pyramidal neurons in subfield CA3. These novel results are distinct from those previously reported for subfield CA1, suggesting that corticosteroids have different effects across hippocampal subfields.

Modulation of endogenous firing patterns by osmolarity in rat hippocampal neurones

1. Intracellular recordings in adult rat hippocampal slices were used to investigate the modulation of endogenous neuronal firing patterns by moderate changes (+/-13%) in the extracellular osmotic pressure (pi o). The responses of CA1 pyramidal cells to graded depolarizing current pulses were used to differentiate between regular and burst-firing patterns and to characterize the stimulus requirements for evoking endogenous burst discharge. 2. Decreasing or increasing pi o had no significant effects on resting membrane potential and input resistance, spike threshold and amplitude, and the amplitudes of the fast, medium and slow spike after-hyperpolarizations (AHPs). The apparent membrane time constant (tau m) increased in low pi o and decreased in high pi o. 3. Reducing pi o converted non-bursting neurones (non-bursters) to bursting neurones (bursters) and decreased the stimulus requirements for evoking burst firing in native bursters. Increasing pi o suppressed endogenous burst firing. 4. Lowering pi o increased the size of the 'active' (i.e. re-depolarizing) component of the spike after-depolarization (ADP). Conversely, increasing pi o suppressed the active ADP component. 5. The sensitivity of spike ADPs and firing patterns of pyramidal cells to the changes in pi o persisted also in Ca(2+)-free saline, indicating that the osmotic effects are not imparted by modulation of Ca2+ and/or Ca(2+)-activated K+ currents. 6. Blocking most K+ currents with Ca(2+)-free, TEA-containing saline induced large and prolonged (up to 1 s), TTX-sensitive plateau potentials following the primary fast spikes. These potentials were augmented by low pi o and abated by high pi o. 7. When injected with subthreshold depolarizing current pulses in Ca(2+)-free saline, pyramidal cells displayed a distinct TTX-sensitive inward rectification. This rectification was augmented by low pi o and reduced by high pi o. 8. The various effects of low-pi o and high-pi o saline solutions were reversible upon washing with normosmotic saline. 9. We conclude that pi o is a critical determinant of the endogenous firing patterns of CA1 pyramidal cells. The data suggest that the osmotic effects are most likely to be mediated by changes in the persistent Na+ current, which underlies the active spike ADP and the burst potential in CA1 pyramidal neurones. The possible contribution of these effects to changes in brain excitability in various abnormal osmotic states in discussed.

Role of potassium and calcium in the generation of cellular bursts in the dentate gyrus

Epileptiform activity, which appears to be endogenous, has been recorded in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus before the onset of synchronized seizure activity and has been termed cellular bursts. It has been postulated that an increase in input to the dentate gyrus causes a local increase in extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) and a decrease in [Ca2+]o that results in this cellular bursting. The first test of this hypothesis is to determine whether the cellular bursts appear in ionic conditions that occur in vivo before the onset of synchronized epileptic activity. This hypothesis was tested in vitro by varying the ionic concentrations in the perfusing solution and recording changes in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus. Intra- and extracellular recordings were made in the dentate gyri of hippocampal slices prepared from anesthetized adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Increasing the extracellular potassium or decreasing the extracellular calcium of the perfusing solution caused three forms of spontaneous activity to appear: depolarizing potentials, action potentials, and cellular bursts. Increasing potassium or decreasing calcium also caused the granule cells to depolarize and reduced their input resistance. No synchronized extracellular field activity was detected. Simultaneously increasing potassium and decreasing calcium caused cellular bursts to appear at concentrations recorded in vivo before the onset of synchronized reverberatory seizure activity.

Role of intrinsic burst firing, potassium accumulation, and electrical coupling in the elevated potassium model of hippocampal epilepsy

Perfusing rat hippocampal slices with high-K+ (7.5 mM) saline induced brief population bursts originating in CA3 at 0.5-1 Hz and spreading synaptically into CA1. In 42% of the slices the brief bursts evoked in CA1 gave way every 0.5-2 s to sustained ictal (or seizure) episode with tonic and clonic components. Paired intra- and extracellular recordings in the CA1 pyramidal layer were used to characterize the synaptic and nonsynaptic mechanisms generating the brief and sustained epileptiform events. The interictal, tonic, or clonic primary burst response in CA1 comprised a spindle-shaped, tight cluster (170-180 Hz) of five to seven population spikes. Bursts evoked between sequential seizures (interictal bursts) were initially small and progressively increased in size. Concurrently, basal extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o] increased from 6.5 to 7.5 mM. The tonic event emanated from a large primary burst and comprised prolonged (> 1 s), self-sustained afterdischarge, associated with a rise in [K+]o to 12 mM. Bursts generated during the subsequent [K+]o decline (clonic bursts) also were large and followed by some afterdischarge. They became small during [K+]o undershoot to 6.5 mM. Intrinsically burst firing pyramidal cells (PCs) were recruited before or at the very onset of the primary population burst and fired repetitively during its course. Nonbursters were recruited > or = 10 ms after the beginning of the primary burst and fired, on average, only one spike. The PCs depolarized during the primary burst and subsequent afterdischarge. The primary depolarizing shift was larger in bursters than in nonbursters. Both bursters and nonbursters fired repetitively, albeit intermittently, during tonic and clonic afterdischarge. Throughout the interictal-ictal cycle intracellular spikes were time-locked to population spikes, indicating that PCs fire in tight synchrony. Differential recording of transmembrane potentials unmasked rapid (4-7 ms) transmembrane depolarizing potentials of up to 10 mV, coincident with population spikes. We conclude that in the high-K+ model of hippocampal epilepsy, the local generation of population bursts in CA1 is led by intrinsic bursters, which recruit and synchronize other PCs by synaptic, electrical, and K(+)-mediated excitatory interactions. The cycling between interictal, tonic, and clonic events appears to result from feedback interactions between neuronal discharge and [K+]o.

Electrophysiological and morphological properties of pyramidal and nonpyramidal neurons in the cat motor cortex in vitro

Electrophysiological and morphological properties of the neurons in cat motor cortex were investigated using intracellular recording and staining techniques in a brain slice preparation. In response to intracellular injection of depolarizing current pulses, four distinct types of firing patterns were observed among cat neocortical neurons. Regular-spiking neurons were characterized by their repetitive firing from which conspicuous frequency adaptation was observed. Doublet-or-burst firing cells were marked with their tendency to fire 2-5 clustered spikes at the onset of depolarizing pulse. In doublet-or-burst firing neurons, but not in regular-spiking neurons, a low-threshold calcium current was revealed by single-electrode voltage clamp. Both regular-spiking and doublet-or-burst firing neurons had relatively wide action potentials. Fast-spiking neurons could fire extremely narrow action potentials at a very high frequency. Their frequency-to-intensity slope of steady-state firing was significantly higher than that of the other neurons. In contrast, narrow-spiking neurons had the smallest frequency-to-intensity slope for steady-state firing, although their action potentials were as narrow as those of the fast-spiking neurons. Both regular-spiking and doublet-or-burst firing neurons were identified as pyramidal neurons, and were found in all layers below layer I. Their apical dendrites were densely coated with dendritic spines. Narrow-spiking neurons were only recorded in layer V. They were large pyramidal cells with scare spines on their apical dendrites. Fast-spiking neurons were all nonpyramidal interneurons. Seven out of eight labelled fast-spiking cells had beaded dendrites without spines. Their axons had a large number of varicosities, and arborized extensively to form a dense plexus of terminals in the vicinity of their soma. The remaining neuron was found to be a spiny nonpyramidal neuron in layer V. These results demonstrate that, in addition to the three types of firing patterns previously identified in rodent neocortex, a group of neurons in the cat motor cortex express another type of firing behaviour which is characterized by extremely narrow action potential and very small frequency-to-intensity slope. Correlation with the morphological data shows that these neurons are large layer V pyramidal cells rather than nonpyramidal interneurons.

Influence of age on the clearance of K+ from the extracellular space of rat hippocampal slices

We examined the hypotheses that aging alters the capacity of brain tissue to regulate extracellular K+ activity (K+o), and that age-related decreases in glucose metabolism may underlie these alterations. Hippocampal slices from young adult (6-9 months old), middle-aged (16-19 months old), and aged (26-29 months old) Fischer 344 rats were exposed to physiological solutions containing 5-20 mM glucose maintained at 36-37 degrees C. Schaffer collaterals in each slice were stimulated at 40 Hz for 2 s, and the resulting changes in K+o were recorded with K+o-sensitive microelectrodes placed in stratum pyramidale of hippocampal subfield CA1. We found that K+ clearance from the extracellular space of hippocampal slices was significantly slowed in the middle-aged group compared with the young adult group in physiological solutions containing 5 and 10 mM glucose. Age-related differences in K+o clearance disappeared in 20 mM glucose. Also, the rate of K+o clearance was modified by glucose concentration. These results suggest that K+ transport rates are modified by age, and that age-related alterations in glucose metabolism may be involved.

The effects of anticonvulsants on 4-aminopyridine-induced bursting: in vitro studies on rat peripheral nerve and dorsal roots

1. Aminopyridines have been used as beneficial symptomatic treatments in a variety of neurological conditions including multiple sclerosis but have been associated with considerable toxicity in the form of abdominal pain, paraesthesias and (rarely) convulsions. 2. Extracellular and intracellular recording was used to characterize action potentials in rat sciatic nerves and dorsal roots and the effects of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). 3. In sciatic nerve trunks, 1 mM 4-AP produced pronounced after potentials at room temperature secondary to regenerative firing in affected axons (5-10 spikes per stimulus). At physiological temperatures, after potentials (2-3 spikes) were greatly attenuated in peripheral axons. 4. 4-AP evoked more pronounced and prolonged after discharges in isolated dorsal roots at 37 degrees C (3-5.5 mV and 80-100 ms succeeded by a smaller inhibitory/depolarizing voltage shift) which were used to assess the effects of anticonvulsants. 5. Phenytoin, carbamazepine and lamotrigine dose-dependently reduced the area of 4-AP-induced after potentials at 100 and 320 microM but the amplitude of compound action potentials (evoked at 0.5 Hz) was depressed in parallel. 6. The tonic block of sensory action potentials by all three drugs (at 320 microM) was enhanced by high frequency stimulation (5-500 Hz). 7. The lack of selectivity of these frequency-dependent Na+ channel blockers for burst firing compared to low-frequency spikes, is discussed in contrast to their effects on 4-AP-induced seizures and paroxysmal activity in CNS tissue (which is associated with large and sustained depolarizing plateau potentials). 8. In conclusion, these in vitro results confirm the marked sensitivity of sensory axons to 4-AP (the presumptive basis for paraesthesias). Burst firing was not preferentially impaired at relatively high concentrations suggesting that anticonvulsants will not overcome the toxic peripheral actions of 4-AP in neurological patients.

The excitability of CA1 pyramidal cell dendrites is modulated by a local Ca(2+)-dependent K(+)-conductance

Intracellular recordings are made from distal apical dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurones in the rat hippocampal slice preparation. Injection of a threshold current evoked two predominant firing patterns: fast spiking and compound spiking. Suprathreshold current injection evoked high frequency dendritic spiking followed by a pronounced slow afterhyperpolarization (sAHP(dend)) lasting for several hundred milliseconds, during which spiking was inhibited for a variable period. In fast spiking dendrites, the size of the sAHP(dend) depended on the number and frequency of preceding spikes, whereas, in compound spiking dendrites, it was more closely related to the size and duration of preceding Ca(2+)-spikes. During the peak of the sAHP(dend), the membrane conductance was increased by 56%. The sAHP(dend) was blocked by perfusion with Ca2+ and by intradendritic injection of ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA; 0.01 or 0.2 M), indicating that the activation of the sAHP(dend) depends on a rise in intradendritic Ca2+. The sAHP(dend) was also blocked by low concentrations (0.5-1 microM) of carbachol. The data presented here therefore, provide strong evidence that the sAHP(dend) is due to the activation of a local Ca(2+)-dependent K(+)-conductance. Possible implications of a dendritic Ca(2+)-dependent K(+)-conductance for the integration of synaptic potentials are discussed.

Effect of extracellular K+ on the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration in leech glial cells and Retzius neurones

The effects of extracellular K+ on the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) of neuropile glial cells and Retzius neurones in intact segmental ganglia of the leech Hirudo medicinalis were investigated by using iontophoretically injected fura-2. In both cell types, an elevation of the extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) caused an increase in [Ca2+]i, which was blocked by Co2+, Ni2+ and menthol, whereas nicardipine, flunarizine, omega-conotoxin GVIA and omega-agatoxin IVA were ineffective. In Ca(2+)-free solution, the K(+)-induced [Ca2+]i increase was largely suppressed in neuropile glial cells and completely abolished in Retzius neurones. The results indicate that the K(+)-induced [Ca2+]i increase was mainly due to Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. The Ca2+ channels of the two cell types were activated at different membrane potentials but at the same [K+]o. In both cell types, the recovery from a K(+)-induced [Ca2+]i increase was unaltered in Na(+)-free solution, indicating that active Ca2+ transport across the plasma membrane is mediated by Na(+)-independent mechanisms.

Electrophysiology of CA1 pyramidal neurons in an animal model of neuronal migration disorders: prenatal methylazoxymethanol treatment

Prenatal methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAMac) injection disrupts cell migration in developing rats. We investigated the electrophysiological characteristics of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from young MAMac-treated animals (postnatal days 25-35). In vitro intracellular recordings from CA1 cells in MAMac-treated tissue revealed resting membrane potential (mean, -61.5 +/- 1.5 mV), action potential amplitude (mean, 69 +/- 3.1 mV), action potential duration (mean, 2.1 +/- 0.2 ms), input resistance (mean, 51.5 +/- 3.6 M omega) and time constant (mean, 33.2 +/- 1.2 ms) similar to those of CA1 cells from control tissue. However, MAMac-treated tissue could be distinguished as having a higher percentage of cells (62% vs. 10%) which fire a burst of action potentials in response to suprathreshold current injection. The synaptic responses of CA1 cells in MAMac-treated and control tissue were comparable. The CA1 field response to stimulation was also comparable at all stimulus intensities tested (50-1500 microA). Elevation of extracellular potassium concentration ([K+]o) from 3 mM to 6 mM resulted in epileptiform discharge activity in response to stratum radiatum stimulation in all MAMac-treated slices (10/10) but in only one-third of controls (3/9). Spontaneous epileptiform discharges were also observed in the majority (8/13) of MAMac-treated slices bathed in 6 mM KCl but in no controls. These data suggest that MAMac treatment during fetal development not only disrupts normal anatomical organization but also leads to alterations in electrophysiological features of the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell region. As such, the MAMac model may provide insights into early onset seizure syndromes associated with developmental abnormalities.

Dendritic morphology of CA1 pyramidal neurones from the rat hippocampus: I. Branching patterns

The aim of this study was to provide quantitative descriptions of the dendritic branching patterns of pyramidal neurones in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. Thirteen adult cells were filled with biocytin and reconstructed by using the light microscope. The number of basal trees arising from the soma of each cell ranged from two to eight. There was wide variation in the number of terminal segments per tree. Six cells had single apical trunks, and seven had trunks that bifurcated in stratum radiatum. The number of apical oblique trees ranged from nine to 30, with each tree usually showing a lower degree of branching than basal trees. Basal and oblique trees had similar branching patterns, with the majority of branch points occurring close to the origin of the tree. Both basal and oblique terminal segments were generally much longer than intermediate segments and constituted up to 90% of the combined dendritic length of the tree. The branching pattern of the apical tuft was different, with many relatively long intermediate segments; terminal segments contributed only some 66% of the combined dendritic length of these trees. The mean total combined dendritic length for six adult cells reconstructed and measured completely was 11,900 +/- 1,000 microns (standard deviation). The relative proportions of the different parts of the dendritic system, although not the total dendritic length, were correlated with the location of the soma relative to the cell body layer. Cells with somata close to the stratum pyramidale/stratum radiatum border had more dendrites terminating in stratum radiatum and fewer in stratum oriens than cells with somata further from it.

Muscarinic modulation of intrinsic burst firing in rat hippocampal neurons

Intracellular recordings in rat hippocampal slices were used to examine how exogenous and endogenous cholinergic agonists modulate the firing pattern of intrinsically burst-firing pyramidal cells. About 24% of CA1 pyramidal cells generated all-or-none, high-frequency bursts of fast action potentials in response to intracellular injection of long positive current pulses. Application of carbachol (5 microM) converted burst firing in these neurons into regular trains of independent spikes. Acetylcholine (5 microM) exerted a similar effect, provided acetylcholine esterase activity was blocked with neostigmine (2 microM). Atropine (1 microM) reversed this cholinergic effect, indicating its mediation by muscarinic receptors. Cholinergic agonists also caused mild neuronal depolarization but the block of intrinsic burst firing was independent of this effect. Repetitive stimulation of cholinergic fibres in the presence of neostigmine (2 microM) evoked a slow cholinergic excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) lasting about a minute. During the slow EPSP, burst firing could not be evoked by depolarizing pulses and the neurons fired in regular mode. These effects were prevented by pretreatment with atropine (1 microM). Exogenously applied cholinergic agonists and endogenously released acetylcholine also reduced spike frequency accommodation and suppressed the long-duration afterhyperpolarization in burst-firing pyramidal cells in an atropine-sensitive manner. A membrane-permeable cAMP analogue (8-bromo-cAMP; 1 microM) also reduced frequency accommodation and blocked the long-duration afterhyperpolarization, but did not affect intrinsic burst firing at all. Taken together, the data show that muscarinic receptor stimulation transforms the stereotyped, phasic response of burst-firing neurons into stimulus-graded, tonic discharge.