Tsutsui H, Oka Y
Misaki Marine Biological Station, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Kanagawa 238-0225, Japan.
J Neurophysiol. 2001 May;85(5):2289-92. doi: 10.1152/jn.2001.85.5.2289.
Of the factors that characterize the properties and functions of neurons, dendritic geometry is one of the most critical. We used simulations employing the multi-compartment model to study the effects of dendritic tip geometry on the electrical properties of the "large cell" in a teleost thalamic nucleus from the corpus glomerulosum. We demonstrated a dramatic geometrical "boosting" effect; passive propagation of the synaptic inputs from the dendritic tip to the soma through the dendritic stalk is less attenuated in cells with larger tips.
