Calcium-dependent potentials in mammalian red nucleus neurons in vitro.

Intracellular recordings were made from red nucleus (RN) neurons in guinea-pig slice preparations. The slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) following an action potential was reversibly abolished by Co2+ or Mn2+. Its amplitude was dependent on the extracellular K+ concentration. When tetraethylammonium was added to the perfusing solution, a tetrodotoxin-resistant regenerative depolarization was evoked which was blocked by Co2+ or Mn2+. There results suggest that the slow AHP is produced by an increase in Ca2+-dependent K+ conductance and that RN neurons have a voltage-dependent Ca2+ conductance.