Intracellular Ca(2+) pools in neuronal signalling.

Different intracellular pools participate in generating Ca(2+) signals in neuronal cells and in shaping their spatio-temporal patterns. They include the endoplasmic reticulum (endowed with different classes of Ca(2+) channels, with distinct functional properties and highly defined expression patterns in the brain), the Golgi apparatus, and the mitochondria. The release of Ca(2+) from intracellular pools plays an important role in controlling processes such as neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity, secretion and neurodegeneration.