PMID: 7538565May 1, 1995Paper

Selective regulation of current densities underlies spontaneous changes in the activity of cultured neurons

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
G G TurrigianoE Marder

Abstract

We study the electrical activity patterns and the expression of conductances in adult stomatogastric ganglion (STG) neurons as a function of time in primary cell culture. When first plated in culture, these neurons had few active properties. After 1 d in culture they produced small action potentials that rapidly inactivated during maintained depolarization. After 2 d in culture they fired large action potentials tonically when depolarized, and their properties resembled very closely the properties of STG neurons pharmacologically isolated in the ganglion. After 3-4 d in culture, however, their electrical properties changed and they fired in bursts when depolarized. We characterized the currents expressed by these neurons in culture. They included two TTX-sensitive sodium currents, a calcium current, a delayed-rectifier-like current, a calcium-dependent potassium current, and two A-type currents. The changes in firing properties with time in culture were accompanied by an increase in inward and decrease in outward current densities. A single-compartment conductance-based model of an STG neuron was constructed by fitting the currents measured in the biological neurons. When the current densities in the model neuron were matched t...Continue Reading

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