Differences of Ca2+ handling properties in identified central olfactory neurons of the antennal lobe

Information processing in neurons depends on highly localized Ca2+ signals. The spatial and temporal dynamics of these signals are determined by a variety of cellular parameters including the calcium influx, calcium buffering and calcium extrusion. Our long-term goal is to better understand how intracellular Ca2+ dynamics are controlled and contribute to information processing in defined interneurons of the insect olfactory system. The latter has served as an excellent model to study general mechanisms of olfaction. Using patch-clamp recordings and fast optical imaging in combination with the ‘added buffer approach’, we analyzed the Ca2+ handling properties of different identified neuron types in Periplaneta americana's olfactory system. Our focus was on two types of local interneurons (LNs) with significant differences in intrinsic electrophysiological properties: (1) spiking LNs that generate ‘normal’ Na+ driven action potentials and (2) non-spiking LNs that do not express voltage-activated Na+ channels. We found that the distinct electrophysiological properties from different types of central olfactory interneurons are strongly correlated with their cell specific calcium handling properties: non-spiking LNs, in which Ca2+ is the only cation that enters the cell to contribute to membrane depolarization, had the highest endogenous Ca2+ binding ratio and Ca2+ extrusion rate.