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We measured Ca2 concentration, [Ca2 ], transients in mitral cell distal apical dendritic tufts produced by physiological odour stimulation of the olfactory epithelium and electrical stimulation of the olfactory nerve (ON) using two-photon scanning and conventional wide-field microscopy of Ca2 -Green-1 dextran in an in vitro frog nose-brain preparation. Weak or strong ON shock-evoked fluorescence transients always had short latency with an onset 0-10 ms after the onset of the bulb local field potential, rapidly increasing to a peak of up to 25% fractional fluorescence change ([DELTA]F/F) in 10-30 ms, were blocked by 10 [mu]M CNQX, decaying with a time constant of about 1 s. With stronger ON shocks that activated many receptor axons, an additional, delayed, sustained AP5-sensitive component (peak at [almost equal to] 0.5 s, up to 40% [DELTA]F/F maximum) could usually be produced. Odour-evoked [Ca2 ] transients sometimes displayed a rapid onset phase that peaked within 50 ms but always had a sustained phase that peaked 0.5-1.5 s after onset, regardless of the strength of the odour or the amplitude of the response. These were considerably larger (up to 150% [DELTA]F/F) than those evoked by ON shock. Odour-evoked [Ca2 ] transients were also distinguished from ON shock-evoked transients by tufts in different glomeruli responding with different delays (time to onset differed by up to 1.5 s between different tufts for the same odour). Odour-evoked [Ca2 ] transients were increased by AMPA-kainate receptor blockade, but substantially blocked by AP5. Electrical stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract (5-6 stimuli at 10 Hz) that evoked granule cell feedback inhibition, blocked 60-100% of the odour-evoked [Ca2 ] transient in tufts when delivered within about 0.5 s of the odour. LOT-mediated inhibition was blocked by 10 [mu]M bicuculline.

(C) 2001 Blackwell Science Ltd.