Temperature sensitivity of neurons in slices of the rat PO/AH hypothalamic area : effect of calcium

The temperature sensitivity of spontaneously active neurons in slices of the preoptic and anterior hypothalamic areas (PO/AH) of rats was assessed by extracellular recording during sinoidal temperature displacements. Classifying cells according to their temperature coefficients (TC, impulses.s-1.degree C-1) revealed that 48% of the 177 cells tested were warm sensitive, 5% were cold sensitive, and 47% were temperature insensitive. Increasing the calcium concentration ([Ca2+]) of the artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) from 0.9 to 1.5 mM Ca2+ decreased the firing rate (FR) and TC of PO/AH neurons. Decreasing extracellular [Ca2+], however, elicited concentration-dependent increases in both parameters. This means in physiological terms that the number and temperature sensitivity of PO/AH neurons is strongly dependent on the extracellular [Ca2+]. Furthermore, these results suggest that caution is warranted when comparing numbers and temperature sensitivities of PO/AH neurons. After blocking synaptic transmission by superfusing the slice with aCSF containing reduced [Ca2+] and elevated [Mg2+], 8 out of 35 neurons ceased their spontaneous activity within 6 min, and 27 remained spontaneously active in low [Ca2+]-high [Mg2+] solution, but displayed unstable spontaneous activity and temperature sensitivity. It is concluded that aCSF with reduced [Ca2+] and elevated [Mg2+] is not a suitable tool to discriminate between inherent and synaptically mediated thermosensitivity.