Potassium channels: Dendritic shock absorbers

Neurons receive sensory information through branched projections called dendrites which were thought, for many years, to be just passive cables. But a new study shows that dendrites contain potassium channels. Moreover, the authors believe that these channels are involved in dendritic excitability and that they may mediate the sophisticated computations that are required for learning.

[1]  D. Johnston,et al.  Active properties of neuronal dendrites. , 1996, Annual review of neuroscience.

[2]  N. Spruston,et al.  Activity-dependent action potential invasion and calcium influx into hippocampal CA1 dendrites. , 1995, Science.

[3]  John A. Freeman,et al.  Dendritic Spikes and Their Inhibition in Alligator Purkinje Cells , 1968, Science.

[4]  D. Tank,et al.  Dendritic Integration in Mammalian Neurons, a Century after Cajal , 1996, Neuron.

[5]  D. Johnston,et al.  A Synaptically Controlled, Associative Signal for Hebbian Plasticity in Hippocampal Neurons , 1997, Science.

[6]  Y. Jan,et al.  Subcellular segregation of two A-type K+ channel proteins in rat central neurons , 1992, Neuron.

[7]  W. Denk,et al.  Dendritic spines as basic functional units of neuronal integration , 1995, Nature.

[8]  D. Kleinfeld,et al.  In vivo dendritic calcium dynamics in neocortical pyramidal neurons , 1997, Nature.

[9]  E. Kandel,et al.  ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY OF HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS: IV. FAST PREPOTENTIALS. , 1961, Journal of neurophysiology.

[10]  B. Sakmann,et al.  Active propagation of somatic action potentials into neocortical pyramidal cell dendrites , 1994, Nature.

[11]  J. Hounsgaard,et al.  Intrinsic determinants of firing pattern in Purkinje cells of the turtle cerebellum in vitro. , 1988, The Journal of physiology.

[12]  J. Lambert,et al.  Regenerative properties of pyramidal cell dendrites in area CA1 of the rat hippocampus. , 1995, The Journal of physiology.

[13]  D. Johnston,et al.  K+ channel regulation of signal propagation in dendrites of hippocampal pyramidal neurons , 1997, Nature.

[14]  H. Markram,et al.  Regulation of Synaptic Efficacy by Coincidence of Postsynaptic APs and EPSPs , 1997, Science.