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Analysis of Dendritic Spine Morphology in Cultured CNS Neurons
Published on: July 13, 2011
Excitable dendrites and spines: earlier theoretical insights elucidate recent direct observations
1Dept of Neurobiology, Institute of Life Science and Center for Neural Computation, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Trends in Neurosciences
|November 26, 1998
Summary
Recent advances allow direct measurement of electrical events in dendrites and dendritic spines. Theoretical research anticipated findings on excitable dendritic properties and local all-or-none events, providing biophysical insights into neuronal function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Direct measurement of electrical events in dendrites and dendritic spines is now possible.
- Experimental techniques highlight the excitable properties of the dendritic membrane.
- Earlier theoretical research predicted some recent experimental findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review biophysical insights from theoretical research on dendritic excitability.
- To elucidate recent experimental results using theoretical models.
- To explore the role of excitable channels in dendritic spines.
Main Methods:
- Review of theoretical research and computer modeling.
- Analysis of conditions for action potential initiation in dendritic trees.
- Investigation of active propagation between excitable spines and dendritic arbors.
Main Results:
- Some dendritic spines possess excitable channels capable of local all-or-none events.
- Theoretical models explored action potential initiation at the spine head.
- Models considered synaptic amplification and active spread in the dendritic tree.
Conclusions:
- Theoretical insights elucidate recent experimental findings on dendritic excitability.
- Dendritic spines exhibit excitable properties with implications for neuronal computation.
- Active dendritic properties contribute to non-linear discrimination of synaptic inputs.
