Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 104, Issue 27, Pages 11447-11452Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0701586104
Keywords
action potential cerebellum; dendrite; modeling; neocortex
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Funding
- Wellcome Trust Funding Source: Medline
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Neurons typically function as transcluction devices, converting patterns of synaptic inputs, received on the dendrites, into trains of output action potentials in the axon. This transcluction process is surprisingly complex and has been proposed to involve a two-way dialogue between axosomatic and dendritic compartments that can generate mutually interacting regenerative responses. To manipulate this process, we have developed a new approach for rapid and reversible occlusion or amputation of the primary dendrites of individual neurons in brain slices. By applying these techniques to cerebellar Purkinje and layer 5 cortical pyramidal neurons, we show directly that both the active and passive properties of dendrites differentially affect firing in the axon depending on the strength of stimulation. For weak excitation, dendrites act as a passive electrical load, raising spike threshold and dampening axonal excitability. For strong excitation, dendrites contribute regenerative inward currents, which trigger burst firing and enhance neuronal excitability. These findings provide direct support for the idea that dendritic morphology and conductances act in concert to regulate the excitability of the neuron.
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