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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 31, 2006, 26(22):5910-5919; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4659-05.2006

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Neuromodulation of Spike-Timing Precision in Sensory Neurons

Cyrus P. Billimoria,¹ Ralph A. DiCaprio,² John T. Birmingham,³ L. F. Abbott,¹ and Eve Marder¹

¹Volen Center and Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, ²Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, and ³Department of Physics, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California 95053

Correspondence should be addressed to Ralph A. DiCaprio, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. Email: rdicaprio1{at}ohiou.edu

The neuropeptide allatostatin decreases the spike rate in response to time-varying stretches of two different crustacean mechanoreceptors, the gastropyloric receptor 2 in the crab Cancer borealis and the coxobasal chordotonal organ (CBCTO) in the crab Carcinus maenas. In each system, the decrease in firing rate is accompanied by an increase in the timing precision of spikes triggered by discrete temporal features in the stimulus. This was quantified by calculating the standard deviation or "jitter" in the times of individual identified spikes elicited in response to repeated presentations of the stimulus. Conversely, serotonin increases the firing rate but decreases the timing precision of the CBCTO response. Intracellular recordings from the afferents of this receptor demonstrate that allatostatin increases the conductance of the neurons, consistent with its inhibitory action on spike rate, whereas serotonin decreases the overall membrane conductance. We conclude that spike-timing precision of mechanoreceptor afferents in response to dynamic stimulation can be altered by neuromodulators acting directly on the afferent neurons.

Key words: stretch receptor; reliability; coding; neuropeptide; crustacea; STG

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Received Oct. 31, 2005; revised April 18, 2006; accepted April 18, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Ralph A. DiCaprio, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. Email: rdicaprio1{at}ohiou.edu

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