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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 27, 2025

Electrophysiological Investigations of Retinogeniculate and Corticogeniculate Synapse Function

Electrophysiological Investigations of Retinogeniculate and Corticogeniculate Synapse Function

Published on: August 7, 2019

Active dendrites enable strong but sparse inputs to determine orientation selectivity.

Lea Goetz¹, Arnd Roth¹, Michael Häusser²

¹Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|July 24, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Neocortical pyramidal neurons use active dendrites, specifically sodium (Na+) and NMDA spikes, to process sensory information. These dendritic events, triggered by strong synaptic inputs, control neuronal output and enable feature selectivity.

Keywords:

dendrite dendritic spike pyramidal cell synaptic integration visual cortex

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Voltage-sensitive Dye Recording from Axons, Dendrites and Dendritic Spines of Individual Neurons in Brain Slices

Voltage-sensitive Dye Recording from Axons, Dendrites and Dendritic Spines of Individual Neurons in Brain Slices

Published on: November 29, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Dendrites of neocortical pyramidal neurons exhibit excitability.
The role of dendritic nonlinearities in sensory processing in vivo remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantitatively link synaptic inputs to nonlinear dendritic events and action potential output.
To investigate how active dendrites influence sensory information processing in vivo.

Main Methods:

Developed a detailed pyramidal neuron model using in vivo dendritic recordings.
Drove the model with realistic input patterns based on in vivo sensory responses and in vitro connectivity data.

Main Results:

Dendritic Na+ and NMDA spikes are key determinants of neuronal output under realistic in vivo conditions.
These dendritic spikes can be initiated by a small number of strong synaptic inputs, including single synapses.
Dendritic excitability enables the strongest synaptic inputs to precisely tune neuronal output.

Conclusions:

Active dendrites play a crucial role in sensory processing by translating synaptic inputs into specific neuronal outputs.
Dendritic excitability allows for feature selectivity in neuronal circuits, enabling small neuronal groups to respond to specific sensory features.