AUTHOR=Bazzigaluppi Paolo , Isenia Sheena C. , Haasdijk Elize D. , Elgersma Ype , De Zeeuw Chris I. , van der Giessen Ruben S. , de Jeu Marcel T. G. TITLE=Modulation of Murine Olivary Connexin 36 Gap Junctions by PKA and CaMKII JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience VOLUME=11 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2017.00397 DOI=10.3389/fncel.2017.00397 ISSN=1662-5102 ABSTRACT=
The inferior olive (IO) is a nucleus located in the brainstem and it is part of the olivo-cerebellar loop. This circuit plays a fundamental role in generation and acquisition of coherent motor patterns and it relies on synchronous activation of groups of Purkinje cells (PC) in the cerebellar cortex. IO neurons integrate their intrinsic oscillatory activity with excitatory inputs coming from the somatosensory system and inhibitory feedback coming from the cerebellar nuclei. Alongside these chemical synaptic inputs, IO neurons are coupled to one another via connexin 36 (Cx36) containing gap junctions (GJs) that create a functional syncytium between neurons. Communication between olivary neurons is regulated by these GJs and their correct functioning contributes to coherent oscillations in the IO and proper motor learning. Here, we explore the cellular pathways that can regulate the coupling between olivary neurons. We combined