" ... Our experimental results show that hypercomplexity of the apical dendritic tuft of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons affects neuronal excitability by reducing the amount of spike frequency adaptation. This difference in firing pattern, related to a higher dendritic complexity, was accompanied by an altered development of the afterhyperpolarization slope with successive action potentials. Our abstract and realistic neuronal models, which allowed manipulation of the dendritic complexity, showed similar effects on neuronal excitability and confirmed the impact of apical dendritic complexity. Alterations of dendritic complexity, as observed in several pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases or neurodevelopmental disorders, may thus not only affect the input to layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons but also shape their firing pattern and consequently alter the information processing in the cortex."
Model Type: Neuron or other electrically excitable cell
Cell Type(s): Neocortex spiking regular (RS) neuron
Currents: Ca pump
Receptors: 5-HT3
Transmitters: Serotonin
Model Concept(s): Influence of Dendritic Geometry
Simulation Environment: NEURON
Implementer(s): van der Velden, Luuk [l.j.j.vandervelden at uva.nl]
References:
van der Velden L, van Hooft JA, Chameau P. (2012). Altered dendritic complexity affects firing properties of cortical layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in mice lacking the 5-HT3A receptor. Journal of neurophysiology. 108 [PubMed]