- Poster presentation
- Open Access
- Published:
The role of the large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channel, BK/Slowpoke, in shaping motor neuron firing during rhythmic activity
BMC Neuroscience volume 12, Article number: P217 (2011)
Rhythmic muscle contractions underlie a number of crucial motor behaviors, such as respiration and locomotion. The timing of contractions is determined by the intrinsic activity and synaptic interactions of neurons within what are called central pattern generating (CPG) networks [1, 2]. In many systems, motor neurons (MNs) are not part of the classically-defined CPG. However, research suggests that ionic currents in MNs may shape the timing of the final motor output [3, 4]. A lot of work has focused particularly on the role of potassium currents in shaping responsiveness and firing of MNs [3, 5]. Large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium (BK) currents, encoded by members of the Slowpoke (Slo) gene family, can contribute to action potential repolarization, regulation of firing frequency and interspike interval, repetitive firing, and burst termination [6]. Mutations of Slo genes also lead to a variety of motor disturbances [6]. We developed a biophysical model of bursting activity in MNs to explore the circumstances under which a BK/Slo current expressed in MNs can shape the timing of motor output underlying locomotion. We identify mechanisms by which the BK/Slo current changes the bursting output of MNs, and describe the different behaviors that are observed for varying membrane densities of the underlying channel. We also present preliminary data consisting of electrophysiological recordings from larval Drosophila showing that the changes in motor output predicted by the model are indeed observed when genetic manipulations of Slo channel density (RNA interference constructs) are targeted to MNs [7]. Our results not only further understanding of the specific role of BK/Slo channels in MNs, but contribute more generally to the growing knowledge on the role intrinsic MN properties play in shaping rhythmic motor output.
References
Harris-Warrick RM: Pattern generation. Curr. Opinion Neurobiol. 1993, 3 (6): 982-988. 10.1016/0959-4388(93)90171-T.
Marder E, Calabrese RL: Principles of rhythmic motor pattern generation. Physiol. Rev. 1996, 76: 687-717.
Harris-Warrick RM: Voltage-sensitive ion channels in rhythmic motor systems. Curr. Opinion Neurobiol. 2002, 12: 646-651. 10.1016/S0959-4388(02)00377-X.
Heckman CJ, Gorassini MA, Bennett DJ: Persistent inward currents in motoneuron dendrites: Implications for motor output. Muscle Nerve. 2005, 31: 135-156. 10.1002/mus.20261.
McLarnon JG: Potassium currents in motoneurones. Progr. Neurobiol. 1995, 47 (6): 513-531. 10.1016/0301-0082(95)00032-1.
Salkoff L, Butler A, Ferreira G, Santi C, Wei A: High-conductance potassium channels of the SLO family. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2006, 7 (12): 921-931. 10.1038/nrn1992.
McKiernan EC: The role of specific voltage-activated and calcium-activated potassium currents in shaping motor neuron firing output during rhythmic motor activity. Doctoral Dissertation Physiological Sciences, University of Arizona. 2011
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Cruz-Aponte, M., Smith, A., Herrera-Valdez, M.A. et al. The role of the large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium channel, BK/Slowpoke, in shaping motor neuron firing during rhythmic activity. BMC Neurosci 12 (Suppl 1), P217 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-12-S1-P217
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-12-S1-P217
Keywords
- Motor Output
- Central Pattern Generate
- Interspike Interval
- Rhythmic Muscle Contraction
- Repetitive Firing