Diversity of K+ Currents in identified central neurons of the insect olfactory system

在昆虫中，触角叶(AL)是处理嗅觉信息的第一个突触中继器。由于AL在结构组织和生理功能上与脊椎动物嗅觉系统有许多惊人的相似之处，AL已经成为嗅觉信息处理的一个非常成功的通用模型。在AL中，一组不同的中枢神经元帮助处理、组织和空间表示嗅觉信息。例如，在美洲大熊猫中，我们发现了具有不同形态和内在电生理特性的局部中间神经元的亚型，这意味着这些神经元在嗅觉系统中发挥着不同的功能。在这里，我们建议分析细胞类型特定的电压和钙激活的K电流，它们在决定固有的放电特征和突触特性方面发挥着重要作用。我们认为，决定固有电生理特性的离子电流的特征是在单细胞水平上理解嗅觉信息处理的细胞学基础的重要一步。

In insects the antennal lobe (AL) is the first synaptic relay that processes olfactory information. Due to the many striking similarities in structural organization and physiological function with the vertebrate olfactory system, the AL has served as an extremely successful general model for olfactory information processing. In the AL a diverse population of central neurons helps to process, structure and spatially represent olfactory information. In Periplaneta americana, for example, we identified sub-types of local interneurons with distinct morphological and intrinsic electrophysiological properties, implying that these neurons serve distinct functions in the olfactory system. Here we propose to analyze the cell type specific sets of voltage and Ca2+ activated K+ currents that play an essential role in determining the intrinsic firing characteristics and synaptic properties. We consider the characterization of the ionic currents, which determine the intrinsic electrophysiological properties, as an important step to understand the cellular basis of olfactory information processing on the single cell level.