Local communication within dendritic spines: models of second messenger diffusion in granule cell spines of the mammalian olfactory bulb

Dendritic integration in olfactory bulb granule cells upon simultaneous multispine activation: Low thresholds for nonlocal spiking activity

The inhibitory axonless olfactory bulb granule cells form reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses with mitral and tufted cells via large spines, mediating recurrent and lateral inhibition. As a case in point for dendritic transmitter release, rat granule cell dendrites are highly excitable, featuring local Na+ spine spikes and global Ca2+- and Na+-spikes. To investigate the transition from local to global signaling, we performed holographic, simultaneous 2-photon uncaging of glutamate at up to 12 granule cell spines, along with whole-cell recording and dendritic 2-photon Ca2+ imaging in acute juvenile rat brain slices. Coactivation of less than 10 reciprocal spines was sufficient to generate diverse regenerative signals that included regional dendritic Ca2+-spikes and dendritic Na+-spikes (D-spikes). Global Na+-spikes could be triggered in one third of granule cells. Individual spines and dendritic segments sensed the respective signal transitions as increments in Ca2+ entry. Dendritic integration as monitored by the somatic membrane potential was mostly linear until a threshold number of spines was activated, at which often D-spikes along with supralinear summation set in. As to the mechanisms supporting active integration, NMDA receptors (NMDARs) strongly contributed to all aspects of supralinearity, followed by dendritic voltage-gated Na+- and Ca2+-channels, whereas local Na+ spine spikes, as well as morphological variables, barely mattered. Because of the low numbers of coactive spines required to trigger dendritic Ca2+ signals and thus possibly lateral release of GABA onto mitral and tufted cells, we predict that thresholds for granule cell-mediated bulbar lateral inhibition are low. Moreover, D-spikes could provide a plausible substrate for granule cell-mediated gamma oscillations.

Predicting brain organization with a computational model: 50-year perspective on lateral inhibition and oscillatory gating by dendrodendritic synapses

The first compartmental computer models of brain neurons using the Rall method predicted novel and unexpected dendrodendritic interactions between mitral and granule cells in the olfactory bulb. We review the models from a 50-year perspective on the work that has challenged, supported, and extended the original proposal that these interactions mediate both lateral inhibition and oscillatory activity, essential steps in the neural basis of olfactory processing and perception. We highlight strategies behind the neurophysiological experiments and the Rall methods that enhance the ability of detailed compartmental modeling to give counterintuitive predictions that lead to deeper insights into neural organization at the synaptic and circuit level. The application of these methods to mechanisms of neurogenesis and plasticity are exciting challenges for the future.

Multiscale modeling and synaptic plasticity

Synaptic plasticity is a major convergence point for theory and computation, and the process of plasticity engages physiology, cell, and molecular biology. In its many manifestations, plasticity is at the hub of basic neuroscience questions about memory and development, as well as more medically themed questions of neural damage and recovery. As an important cellular locus of memory, synaptic plasticity has received a huge amount of experimental and theoretical attention. If computational models have tended to pick specific aspects of plasticity, such as STDP, and reduce them to an equation, some experimental studies are equally guilty of oversimplification each time they identify a new molecule and declare it to be the last word in plasticity and learning. Multiscale modeling begins with the acknowledgment that synaptic function spans many levels of signaling, and these are so tightly coupled that we risk losing essential features of plasticity if we focus exclusively on any one level. Despite the technical challenges and gaps in data for model specification, an increasing number of multiscale modeling studies have taken on key questions in plasticity. These have provided new insights, but importantly, they have opened new avenues for questioning. This review discusses a wide range of multiscale models in plasticity, including their technical landscape and their implications.

Role of cortical feedback in regulating inhibitory microcircuits

The olfactory bulb contains an impressive array of specialized inhibitory local circuits. The most frequent inhibitory microcircuit in this brain region is the reciprocal dendrodendritic synapse formed between the lateral dendrites of mitral cells and distal dendritic spines of GABAergic granule cells. Recent work discussed in this review suggests that release of GABA from granule cell spines may reflect near-coincident activation of both mitral cell-to-granule cell synapses and proximal excitatory synapses on granule cells that originate from pyramidal cells in piriform cortex. Recent work using two-photon guided microstimulation demonstrated that proximal and distal excitatory synapses onto granule cells exhibit different forms of short-term plasticity, with feedback inputs from piriform cortex facilitating when tested with brief ( approximately 50 ms) interstimulus intervals. One consequence of this synaptic plasticity is that short duration, gamma-frequency, oscillatory discharges in piriform cortical cells evoke summating excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in granule cells that effectively trigger action potentials. Piriform cortex stimulation can gate dendrodendritic inhibition onto mitral cells, presumably through the ability of EPSP-driven action potentials in granule cells to temporarily relieve the tonic blockade of NMDA receptors by extracellular Mg(2+) ions. Feedback projections in other CNS systems also may target inhibitory neurons, such as the backprojection from CA3 pyramidal neurons to GABAergic hilar interneurons. The ability of downstream processing areas to rapidly and selectively activate inhibitory interneurons in other brain regions may provide an important mechanism to dynamically modulate biological information processing.

Dynamic connectivity in the mitral cell-granule cell microcircuit

The interactions between excitatory mitral cells and inhibitory granule cells are critical for the regulation of olfactory bulb activity. Here we review anatomical and physiological data on the mitral cell-granule cell circuit and provide a quantitative estimate of how this connectivity varies as a function of distance between mitral cells. We also discuss the ways in which the functional connectivity can be altered rapidly during olfactory bulb activity.

Dendrodendritic synaptic signals in olfactory bulb granule cells: local spine boost and global low-threshold spike

In the mammalian olfactory bulb, axonless granule cells process synaptic input and output reciprocally within large spines. The nature of the calcium signals that underlie the presynaptic and postsynaptic function of these spines is mostly unknown. Using two-photon imaging in acute rat brain slices and glomerular stimulation of mitral/tufted cells, we observed two forms of action potential-independent synaptic Ca2+ signals in granule cell dendrites. Weak activation of mitral/tufted cells produced stochastic Ca2+ transients in individual granule cell spines. These transients were strictly localized to the spine head, indicating a local passive boosting or spine spike. Ca2+ sources for these local synaptic events included NMDA receptors, voltage-dependent calcium channels, and Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release from internal stores. Stronger activation of mitral/tufted cells produced a low-threshold Ca2+ spike (LTS) throughout the granule cell apical dendrite. This global spike was mediated by T-type Ca2+ channels and represents a candidate mechanism for subthreshold lateral inhibition in the olfactory bulb. The coincidence of local input and LTS in the spine resulted in summation of local and global Ca2+ signals, a dendritic computation that could endow granule cells with subthreshold associative plasticity.

On the nature of the NAA diffusion attenuated MR signal in the central nervous system

In the brain, on a macroscopic scale, diffusion of the intraneuronal constituent N-acetyl-L-aspartate (NAA) appears to be isotropic. In contrast, on a microscopic scale, NAA diffusion is likely highly anisotropic, with displacements perpendicular to neuronal fibers being markedly hindered, and parallel displacements less so. In this report we first substantiate that local anisotropy influences NAA diffusion in vivo by observing differing diffusivities parallel and perpendicular to human corpus callosum axonal fibers. We then extend our measurements to large voxels within rat brains. As expected, the macroscopic apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of NAA is practically isotropic due to averaging of the numerous and diverse fiber orientations. We demonstrate that the substantially non-monoexponential diffusion-mediated MR signal decay vs. b value can be quantitatively explained by a theoretical model of NAA confined to an ensemble of differently oriented neuronal fibers. On the microscopic scale, NAA diffusion is found to be strongly anisotropic, with displacements occurring almost exclusively parallel to the local fiber axis. This parallel diffusivity, ADCparallel, is 0.36 +/- 0.01 microm2/ms, and ADCperpendicular is essentially zero. From ADCparallel the apparent viscosity of the neuron cytoplasm is estimated to be twice as large as that of a temperature-matched dilute aqueous solution.

Calcium entry through cyclic nucleotide-gated channels in individual cilia of olfactory receptor cells: spatiotemporal dynamics

Transient elevations of intracellular Ca2+ play an important role in regulating the sensitivity of olfactory transduction, but such elevations have not been demonstrated in the olfactory cilia, which are the site of primary odor transduction. To begin to understand Ca2+ signaling in olfactory cilia, we used high-resolution imaging techniques to study the Ca2+ transients that occur in salamander olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) as a result of cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channel activation. To visualize ciliary Ca2+ signals, we loaded ORNs with the Ca2+ indicator dye Fluo-3 AM and measured fluorescence with a laser scanning confocal microscope. Application of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX increased fluorescence in the cilia and other neuronal compartments; the ciliary signal occurred first and was more transient. This signal could be abolished by lowering external Ca2+ or by applying LY83583, a potent blocker of CNG channels, indicating that Ca2+ entry through CNG channels was the primary source of fluorescence increases. Direct activation of CNG channels with low levels of 8-Br-cGMP (1 microM) led to tonic Ca2+ signals that were restricted locally to the cilia and the dendritic knob. Elevated external K+, which depolarizes cell membranes, increased fluorescence signals in the cell body and dendrite but failed to increase ciliary Ca2+ fluorescence. The results demonstrate the existence and spatiotemporal properties of Ca2+ transients in individual olfactory cilia and implicate CNG channels as a major pathway for Ca2+ entry into ORN cilia during odor transduction.

Three-dimensional organization of smooth endoplasmic reticulum in hippocampal CA1 dendrites and dendritic spines of the immature and mature rat

Recent studies have shown high levels of calcium in activated dendritic spines, where the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) is likely to be important for regulating calcium. Here, the dimensions and organization of the SER in hippocampal spines and dendrites were measured through serial electron microscopy and three-dimensional analysis. SER of some form was found in 58% of the immature spines and in 48% of the adult spines. Less than 50% of the small spines at either age contained SER, suggesting that other mechanisms, such as cytoplasmic buffers, regulate ion fluxes within their small volumes. In contrast, >80% of the large mushroom spines of the adult had a spine apparatus, an organelle containing stacks of SER and dense-staining plates. Reconstructed SER occupied 0.001-0.022 microm3, which was only 2-3.5% of the total spine volume; however, the convoluted SER membranes had surface areas of 0.12-2.19 microm2, which were 12 to 40% of the spine surface area. Coated vesicles and multivesicular bodies occurred in some spines, suggesting local endocytotic activity. Smooth vesicles and tubules of SER were found in continuity with the spine plasma membrane and margins of the postsynaptic density (PSD), respectively, suggesting a role for the SER in the addition and recycling of spine membranes and synapses. The amount of SER in the parent dendrites was proportional to the number of spines and synapses originating along their lengths. These measurements support the hypothesis that the SER regulates the ionic and structural milieu of some, but not all, hippocampal dendritic spines.

Imaging calcium dynamics in dendritic spines

Recent advances in optical imaging technology have enabled the measurement of Ca2+ dynamics in individual synaptic spines with high time resolution. Results from work using this new technology have confirmed the view that individual synaptic spines can act as functional chemical compartments with independent dynamics of second-messenger concentration. In particular, the ability of Ca2+ to directly mediate Hebbian coincidence detection has been confirmed.