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Golgi cells in the superficial granule cell domain overlying the ventral cochlear nucleus: Morphology and electrophysiology in slices
Author(s) -
Ferragamo Michael J.,
Golding Nace L.,
Gardner Stephanie M.,
Oertel Donata
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19981102)400:4<519::aid-cne6>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - golgi apparatus , biology , cochlear nucleus , neuroscience , excitatory postsynaptic potential , granule (geology) , microbiology and biotechnology , dorsal cochlear nucleus , postsynaptic potential , electrophysiology , granule cell , cochlea , nucleus , anatomy , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , endoplasmic reticulum , central nervous system , receptor , dentate gyrus , paleontology , biochemistry
Golgi cells are poised to integrate multimodal influences by participating in circuits involving granule cells in the cochlear nuclei. To understand their physiological role, intracellular recordings were made from anatomically identified Golgi cells in slices of the cochlear nuclei from mice. Cell bodies, dendrites, and terminals for all seven labeled cells were restricted to the narrow plane of the superficial granule cell domain over the ventral cochlear nucleus. The axonal arborization was the most striking feature of all Golgi cells; a dense plexus of terminals covered an area 200–400 μm in diameter in the vicinity of the cell body and dendrites. Axonal beads often surrounded granule cell bodies, indicating that granule cells are probable targets. Cells had input resistances up to 130 MΩ and fired regular, overshooting action potentials. Golgi cells probably receive auditory nerve input, because shocks to the cut end of the auditory nerve excited Golgi cells with excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). The latency of EPSPs shortened to a minimum and the amplitude of EPSPs grew in several steps as the strength of shocks was increased. The minimum latency of EPSPs in Golgi cells was on average 1.3 milliseconds, 0.6 milliseconds longer than the minimum latencies of EPSPs in nearby octopus and T stellate cells. The long latency raises the possibility that Golgi cells receive input from slowly conducting, unmyelinated auditory nerve fibers. Golgi cells are also excited by interneurons with N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors, probably granule cells, because repetitive shocks and single shocks in the absence of extracellular Mg 2+ evoked late EPSPs that were reversibly blocked by DL‐2‐amino‐5‐phosphono‐valeric acid. J. Comp. Neurol. 400:519–528, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.