Yuste Rafael, Urban Rochelle
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, NY, USA.
J Physiol Paris. 2004 Jul-Nov;98(4-6):479-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2005.09.014. Epub 2005 Nov 23.
The function of the cortical microcircuitry is still mysterious. Using a bottom-up analysis based on the biophysics and connectivity of cortical neurons, we propose the hypothesis that the neocortex is essentially a linear integrator of inputs. Dendritic spines would slow the neuron and contribute to linearize input summation. Since excitatory axons are relatively straight, they appeared designed to help disperse information to a large number of recipient neurons, generating a distributed circuit. A linear summation regime will ensure the full benefit of a distributed connectivity matrix. Linear integration could also help the neocortex decode the sensory world and may have additional computational advantages. In this view, spines would be the anatomical signature of linear networks.
皮质微回路的功能仍然神秘莫测。基于皮质神经元的生物物理学和连接性进行自下而上的分析，我们提出这样一个假说：新皮质本质上是输入的线性整合器。树突棘会使神经元变慢，并有助于使输入总和线性化。由于兴奋性轴突相对较直，它们似乎是为了将信息分散到大量接受神经元而设计的，从而形成一个分布式回路。线性总和机制将确保分布式连接矩阵的充分益处。线性整合还可能有助于新皮质解码感觉世界，并且可能具有其他计算优势。按照这种观点，树突棘将是线性网络的解剖学标志。
