Injections of calcium ions into spinal motoneurones

Authors:
  • KKK. Krnjević
    K. Krnjević
  • ALA. Lisiewicz
    A. Lisiewicz
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Abstract
1. In cats under Dial anaesthesia, Ca2+ was injected inside lumbosacral motoneurones, by passing currents between CaCl2‐ and KCl‐containing barrels of compound micropipettes.2. There was a reduction in excitability and a fall in membrane resistance, both rapid in onset and quickly reversible.3. The minimum effective injection current was ≈ 10 nA, and the effect reached a maximum with currents of ≈ 30 nA. The mean slope of resistance change against injection current was −1·7%/nA ( S.E. 0·35).4. The most common change in membrane potential was a hyperpolarization; but in nearly half the cases, there was no clear change or a small depolarization. A reversal level for the effect of Ca2+ could be measured in five cells: on the average, it was 10 mV more negative than the resting potential.5. Observations on i.p.s.p.s showed that Ca2+ probably does not alter gCl: it was concluded that the fall in membrane resistance caused by intracellular Ca2+ is mainly due to an increase in gK.6. These results confirm previous suggestions that a steep transmembrane gradient of Ca2+ is essential for the maintenance of a low membrane conductivity, and that a rise in internal free Ca2+ — whether due to influx or release from internal stores — may play an important role in regulating neuronal activity.

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