Manita Satoshi, Miyakawa Hiroyoshi, Kitamura Kazuo, Murayama Masanori
Laboratory for Behavioral Neurophysiology, Brain Science Institute, RIKENWako City, Saitama, Japan; Department of Neurophysiology, Division of Medicine, University of YamanashiChuo-shi, Japan.
Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences Hachioji, Japan.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2017 Feb 15;11:29. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00029. eCollection 2017.
What is the function of dendritic spikes? One might argue that they provide conditions for neuronal plasticity or that they are essential for neural computation. However, despite a long history of dendritic research, the physiological relevance of dendritic spikes in brain function remains unknown. This could stem from the fact that most studies on dendrites have been performed . Fortunately, the emergence of novel techniques such as improved two-photon microscopy, genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs), and optogenetic tools has provided the means for vital breakthroughs in dendritic research. These technologies enable the investigation of the functions of dendritic spikes in behaving animals, and thus, help uncover the causal relationship between dendritic spikes, and sensory information processing and synaptic plasticity. Understanding the roles of dendritic spikes in brain function would provide mechanistic insight into the relationship between the brain and the mind. In this review article, we summarize the results of studies on dendritic spikes from a historical perspective and discuss the recent advances in our understanding of the role of dendritic spikes in sensory perception.
树突棘的功能是什么？有人可能会认为，它们为神经元可塑性提供了条件，或者它们对神经计算至关重要。然而，尽管树突研究历史悠久，但树突棘在脑功能中的生理相关性仍然未知。这可能源于大多数关于树突的研究都是在……进行的这一事实。幸运的是，诸如改进的双光子显微镜、基因编码钙指示剂（GECIs）和光遗传学工具等新技术的出现，为树突研究带来了重大突破。这些技术能够在行为动物中研究树突棘的功能，从而有助于揭示树突棘与感觉信息处理和突触可塑性之间的因果关系。了解树突棘在脑功能中的作用将为大脑与思维之间的关系提供机制性见解。在这篇综述文章中，我们从历史角度总结了关于树突棘的研究结果，并讨论了我们对树突棘在感觉知觉中作用理解的最新进展。
