Cold-Temperature Coding with Bursting and Spiking Based on TRP Channel Dynamics in Larva Sensory Neurons.

Temperature sensation involves thermosensitive TRP (thermoTRP) and non-TRP channels. larval Class III (CIII) neurons serve as the primary cold nociceptors and express a suite of thermoTRP channels implicated in noxious cold sensation. How CIII neurons code temperature remains unclear.

Bursting Dynamics Based on the Persistent Na and Na/K Pump Currents: A Dynamic Clamp Approach.

Life-supporting rhythmic motor functions like heart-beating in invertebrates and breathing in vertebrates require an indefatigable generation of a robust rhythm by specialized oscillatory circuits, central pattern generators (CPGs). These CPGs should be sufficiently flexible to adjust to environmental changes and behavioral goals. Continuous self-sustained operation of bursting neurons requires intracellular Na concentration to remain in a functional range and to have checks and balances of the Na fluxes met on a cycle-to-cycle basis during bursting.

Microgeometrical dendritic factors predict electrical decoupling between somatic and dendritic compartments in magnocellular neurosecretory neurons.

It is generally assumed that dendritic release of neuropeptides from magnocellular neurosecretory neurons (MNNs), a critical process involved in homeostatic functions, is an activity-dependent process that requires backpropagating action potentials (APs). Still, growing evidence indicates that dendritic release can occur in the absence of APs, and axonal APs have been shown to fail to evoke dendritic release. These inconsistencies strongly suggest that APs in MNNs may fail to backpropagating into dendrites.

Chloride-dependent mechanisms of multimodal sensory discrimination and nociceptive sensitization in .

Individual sensory neurons can be tuned to many stimuli, each driving unique, stimulus-relevant behaviors, and the ability of multimodal nociceptor neurons to discriminate between potentially harmful and innocuous stimuli is broadly important for organismal survival. Moreover, disruptions in the capacity to differentiate between noxious and innocuous stimuli can result in neuropathic pain. larval class III (CIII) neurons are peripheral noxious cold nociceptors and innocuous touch mechanosensors; high levels of activation drive cold-evoked contraction (CT) behavior, while low levels of activation result in a suite of touch-associated behaviors.