Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.  2020 Jul;24(4):349-362. 10.4196/kjpp.2020.24.4.349.

Analysis of temperature-dependent abnormal bursting patterns of neurons in Aplysia

• Hyun NG
• Hyun K
• Oh S
• Lee K

• KMID: 2503328
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2020.24.4.349

Abstract

Temperature affects the firing pattern and electrical activity of neurons in animals, eliciting diverse responses depending on neuronal cell type. However, the mechanisms underlying such diverse responses are not well understood. In the present study, we performed in vitro recording of abdominal ganglia cells of Aplysia juliana , and analyzed their burst firing patterns. We identified atypical bursting patterns dependent on temperature that were totally different from classical bursting patterns observed in R15 neurons of A. juliana . We classified these abnormal bursting patterns into type 1 and type 2; type 1 abnormal single bursts are composed of two kinds of spikes with a long interspike interval (ISI) followed by short ISI regular firing, while type 2 abnormal single bursts are composed of complex multiplets. To investigate the mechanism underlying the temperature dependence of abnormal bursting, we employed simulations using a modified Plant model and determined that the temperature dependence of type 2 abnormal bursting is related to temperaturedependent scaling factors and activation or inactivation of potassium or sodium channels.

Keyword

Aplysia; Bursting; Electrical signals; Plant model; Temperature dependence

Figure

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  Fig. 1 A representative of type 1 abnormal burst from each experiment (A–D). V(t), membrane potential.

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  Fig. 2 Type 1 abnormal bursting pattern changed by a sweep of temperature from the highest temperature to the lowest temperature (from 729 min to 776 min). Data were obtained from experiment D. T(°C), temperature. V(t), membrane potential.

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  Fig. 3 Temperature-dependent change of various parameters in type 1 abnormal burst. Data were obtained from experiment D. (A) Interburst interval. (B) Number of bursts per minute. (C) Duration of a whole burst. (D) Frequency. (E) Duration of partial bursts. (F) Frequency of partial bursts. (G) Number of spikes per burst. (H) Av,max, maximum action potential amplitude.

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  Fig. 4 A representative type 2 abnormal burst from each experiment E. (A, B) Overall type 2 abnormal bursting pattern in response to temperature change obtained from the 10th cycle (A) and 34th cycle (B) during experiment E. Differences in the pattern between in the rising phases and lowering phase of temperature can be observed during the 10th cycle, but the 34th cycle shows a more simplified pattern than the 10th cycle. Inset in (A), an example of a typical type 2 abnormal single burst composed of (a) a singlet, (b) a doublet, (c) a triplet, (d) a quartet, and (e) a pentet.

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  Fig. 5 Temperature-dependent changes in parameters of the type 2 abnormal burst during different phases of temperature change. (A) Interburst interval. (B) Vmin, membrane potential at the negative peak. (C) Amax, maximum action potential amplitude. (D) Aave, average of action potential amplitude. (E) Number of spikes per cycle. (F) Temperature in each cycle. FST, temperature to generate the first spike in the rising phase; LST, temperature to show the last spike in the descending phase. Note that bursting in the first half of the experiment E differs from the bursting observed in the second half.

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  Fig. 6 Comparison of the experimental results and the simulation results. The seven blue line graphs show the data of experimental E marked as S, Lf, Ls, Mf, Ms, Hf, Hs in Fig. 4A. The red line graphs are the simulation data generated by the modified Plant model. Note that the simulated results are reproducible and similar to the experimental results. V(t), membrane potential.

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  Fig. 7 An enlarged view of the bursting patterns selected from the experimental results and the simulated results shown in Fig. 6. The blue line graphs show the data of experimental E and the red line graphs are the simulation data generated by the modified Plant model. V(t), membrane potential.

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