Contribution of <f>Ca2+</f> transporters to electrical response of a non-spiking retinal neuron

Ion transporters of neurons play important roles in regulating the intracellular ionic milieu. However, it is not well known about their contributions to electrical responses. In the present study, effects of <f>Ca2+</f> transporters on the voltage response of retinal horizontal cell, a non-spiking CNS neuron, were elucidated using a model reconstructed from physiological and morphological observations. The computer simulation showed that <f>Ca2+</f> transporters modulate the response via <f>Ca2+</f>-dependent inactivation of the voltage-gated <f>Ca2+</f> conductance. This also suggests that graded voltage changes induced at the post-synaptic sites of spiking neurons should be modulated by <f>Ca2+</f> transporters as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]