SODIUM CALCIUM EXCHANGER IN OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS OF XENOPUS-LAEVIS/

Ca2+ ions enter neurones through various types of calcium and cation c hannels. The mechanisms by which Ca2+ ions are spatially buffered and expelled from neurones have been studied considerably less. Using calc ium imaging in conjunction with the patch clamp technique, we investig ated the Na/Ca exchanger in olfactory neurones and found evidence for its localization on the dendrite. It is suggested that this tends to d ecouple increases in [Ca2+](i) occurring in the transduction compartme nts of the cell from processes in the soma.