Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Sodium channels amplify spine potentials.

Roberto Araya1, Volodymyr Nikolenko, Kenneth B Eisenthal

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 21, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Connectivity Logic of Dendritic Spines in Cortex: Increased Inputs and Ensemble Formation.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Translatome profiling reveals opposing alterations in inhibitory and excitatory neurons of fragile X mice and identifies EPAC2 as a therapeutic target.

Neuron·2026
Same author

VesiclePy: A machine learning vesicle analysis toolbox for volume electron microscopy.

PLoS computational biology·2026
Same author

Dense and distributed neuropeptide network in the nerve net of Hydra vulgaris.

PLoS computational biology·2026
Same author

Neuronal ensembles in cortical function and disease.

Physiological reviews·2026
Same author

Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Elementary School Classrooms.

Journal of Intelligence·2025
Same journal

The TaMYB55-TaSnRK1α1-TabZIP9 module confers heat stress tolerance in wheat.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Superstatistics approach to turbulent circulation fluctuations.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

A molecular timescale for evolution of cobamide biosynthesis.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Pierre Chambon, a pioneer of molecular biology and gene regulation in eukaryotes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Granulosa cell glycogen fuels the avascular corpus luteum.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Synthetic essentiality of TRAIL/TNFSF10 in VHL-deficient renal cell carcinoma.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Brain dendritic spines contain sodium channels, making them excitable. This discovery, using tetrodotoxin (TTX) on mouse neurons, suggests spines boost synaptic signals and aid action potential propagation.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cellular Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Plasticity

Background:

  • Dendritic spines are the primary sites of excitatory synaptic input in the brain.
  • Previous research suggested the potential presence of sodium channels within dendritic spines.
  • The electrical properties and excitability of dendritic spines remain an active area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally determine if dendritic spines possess functional sodium channels.
  • To investigate the impact of sodium channel blockade on synaptic potentials generated within spines.
  • To elucidate the role of spine sodium channels in neuronal excitability and signal processing.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized two-photon glutamate uncaging to evoke localized depolarizations in dendritic spines of mouse neocortical pyramidal neurons.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Applied tetrodotoxin (TTX), a specific sodium channel blocker, to assess its effect on uncaging-evoked potentials.
  • Measured changes in postsynaptic potentials within individual spines before and after TTX application.

    • Main Results:

    • Tetrodotoxin (TTX) significantly reduced the amplitude of glutamate uncaging-evoked potentials in nearly all examined dendritic spines.
    • The TTX-induced reduction in potential was postsynaptic and confined to the spine itself.
    • This effect was observed across various uncaging-induced potential amplitudes and spine morphologies (neck lengths).

    Conclusions:

    • Dendritic spines of neocortical pyramidal neurons are electrically isolated from the parent dendrite.
    • The presence of functional sodium channels renders dendritic spines excitable structures.
    • Spine sodium channels may play a crucial role in amplifying synaptic potentials and facilitating action potential backpropagation.