PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Smith, Spencer L.
AU  - Otis, Thomas S.
TI  - Persistent Changes in Spontaneous Firing of Purkinje Neurons Triggered by the Nitric Oxide Signaling Cascade
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-02-00367.2003
DP  - 2003 Jan 15
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 367--372
VI  - 23
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/2/367.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/2/367.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2003 Jan 15; 23
AB  - Many types of neurons fire spontaneously because of the activity of pacemaking ion channels. Although endogenous firing can serve as a persistent signal to downstream targets, little attention has been paid to factors that might modulate such intrinsic electrical activity. We tested for modulation of spontaneous firing of Purkinje neurons in cerebellar slices under conditions in which principal synaptic inputs were blocked. Loose-patch recordings from single neurons show that sustained (>40 min) increases in the spontaneous firing rate can be triggered by activation of the nitric oxide–cGMP signaling pathway. Inhibitors of soluble guanylate cyclase and protein kinase G block this modulation. Increases in firing rate are also observed after stimulation of parallel fibers but not in response to basket cell activity. These findings elucidate a novel role for the nitric oxide–cGMP signaling cascade in the brain. This mechanism could permit long-term adjustments in the baseline firing rate of endogenously active neurons in response to changes in afferent activity.