Two-photon imaging of voltage- and NMDA-activated calcium accumulation in neurites and cell bodies of rat cerebellar granule cells in culture.

Topical accumulation of calcium ions in neurites and cell bodies of rat cerebellar granule cells was studied by two-photon microscopy in neurons loaded with the Ca-sensitive fluorescent indicator Oregon Green 488 Bapta. High potassium caused a rapid surge of internal calcium ([Ca2+]i) in the cell body, followed by a plateau. In neurites, [Ca2+]i reached a peak and then decreased back to the control level. In contrast, in neurons stimulated by NMDA, [Ca2+]i reached a steady level and remained constant as long as the agonist was present in the bath, either in the cell bodies or in neurites. In the latter, the response to NMDA treatment was smaller and heterogeneous, and [Ca2+]i increased in certain segments of the neurite, but not in others.