Abstract
Dendrites of cortical neurons possess active conductances, which contribute to the nonlinear processing of synaptic information. Recently it has been shown that basal dendrites can generate highly localized spikes mediated by NMDA receptor channels. These spikes may serve as a powerful mechanism to detect and amplify synchronously activated spatially clustered excitatory synaptic inputs in individual dendritic segments, and may enable parallel processing in several integrative dendritic subunits.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Action Potentials
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Animals
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Brain / physiology
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Calcium Channels / physiology
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Dendrites / physiology*
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Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / physiology
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Humans
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Ion Channel Gating
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Memory / physiology
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Nerve Net / physiology
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Nerve Tissue Proteins / physiology*
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Neuronal Plasticity / physiology
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Pyramidal Cells / physiology
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Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / physiology*
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Signal Transduction / physiology*
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Sodium Channels / physiology
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Synaptic Transmission / physiology*
Substances
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Calcium Channels
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Nerve Tissue Proteins
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Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
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Sodium Channels