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Updated: May 13, 2026

Recording Temperature-induced Neuronal Activity through Monitoring Calcium Changes in the Olfactory Bulb of Xenopus laevis
Published on: June 3, 2016
Voltage-gated membrane currents in neurons involved in odor information processing in snail procerebrum
Z Pirger1, I Battonyai, N Krajcs
1Department of Experimental Zoology, Balaton Limnological Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Klebelsberg Kuno Str. 3, 8237, Tihany, Hungary.
Abstract:
The procerebrum (PC) of the snail brain is a critical region for odor discrimination and odor learning. The morphological organization and physiological function of the PC has been intensively investigated in several gastropod species; however, the presence and distribution of ion channels in bursting and non-bursting cells has not yet been described. Therefore, the aim of our study was to identify the different ion channels present in PC neurons. Based on whole cell patch-clamp and immunohistochemical experiments, we show that Na(+)-, Ca(2+)-, and K(+)-dependent voltage-gated channels are differentially localized and expressed in the cells of the PC. Different Na-channel subtypes are present in large (10-15 μm) and small (5-8 μm) diameter neurons, which are thought to correspond to the bursting and non-bursting cells, respectively. Here, we show that the bursting neurons possess fast sodium current (I NaT) and NaV1.9-like channels and the non-bursting neurons possess slow sodium current (I NaT) and NaV1.8-like channels in addition to the L-type Ca(-), KV4.3 (A-type K-channel) and KV2.1 channels. We suggest that the bursting and/or non-bursting character of the PC neurons is at least partly determined by the battery of ion-channels present and their cellular and subcellular compartmentalization.
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