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Synaptic Signaling

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...

Synaptic Signaling

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.

The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation

The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation

A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Targeted Labeling of Neurons in a Specific Functional Micro-domain of the Neocortex by Combining Intrinsic Signal and Two-photon Imaging

Targeted Labeling of Neurons in a Specific Functional Micro-domain of the Neocortex by Combining Intrinsic Signal and Two-photon Imaging

Published on: December 12, 2012

Vectorized instructive signals in cortical dendrites.

Valerio Francioni^1,2, Vincent D Tang^1,2, Enrique H S Toloza^1,3,4

¹McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.

|February 25, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers found vectorized teaching signals in brain dendrites, a mechanism for neural learning. This discovery in cortical circuits could explain how the brain solves the credit assignment problem.

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Last Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Targeted Labeling of Neurons in a Specific Functional Micro-domain of the Neocortex by Combining Intrinsic Signal and Two-photon Imaging

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Published on: December 12, 2012

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

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Published on: November 29, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Computational Neuroscience
Machine Learning

Background:

Vectorization of teaching signals is crucial for modern machine learning algorithms like backpropagation.
Theoretical models propose that neural circuits might implement vectorized learning at the cellular level using dendritic compartments.
How cortical circuits solve the credit assignment problem in the brain remains an open question.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the existence and function of vectorized instructive signals within neuronal dendrites.
To test the hypothesis that cortical circuits solve credit assignment via dendritic computation.

Main Methods:

Utilized a neurofeedback brain-computer interface task with mice.
Recorded neural activity (GCaMP) from somas and dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the retrosplenial cortex.
Employed optogenetic perturbations to assess the causal role of dendritic signals in learning.

Main Results:

Observed that somatic and dendritic signals contained task-related information, including reward and error, acting as instructive signals.
Found that the nature of these teaching signals depended on individual neurons' causal roles in the task.
Demonstrated that disrupting these dendritic signals impaired learning.

Conclusions:

Provided evidence for a vectorized instructive signal implemented through semi-independent computation in cortical dendrites.
Unveiled a potential cellular-level mechanism for solving the credit assignment problem in the brain.
Highlighted the role of dendrites in neural computation and learning.