Dendritic Integration in Single Vertebrate Neurons

描述（由申请人提供）：了解生物物理特性 以及它们如何处理信息是 了解大脑是如何工作的这项建议的长远目标是 有助于理解信息处理的逻辑， 单个脊椎动物神经元的树突。我们将使用新的工具，基于 最近开发的高分辨率成像技术， 电压敏感染料，检查两个显着的空间方面的树突状细胞 整合;（a）在两个功能中处理感觉信息 嗅球僧帽细胞的隔室和（B）功能性 CA 1锥体神经元树突树的细分。 兴奋性和抑制性之间相互作用的准确描述 二尖瓣和簇状细胞的不同树突隔室中的成分 应有助于理解信号集成的过程中， 嗅球这样的理解将是朝着 理解与感官知觉有关的神经机制。 假设突触放大的反向传播行动 电位仅限于突触输入部位是基于计算机 模拟和间接实验证据。这是一个重要的假设 因为兴奋性的空间限制性变化可以在功能上 细分神经元;多个功能区室，反过来，具有重要的 对突触整合和可塑性的影响。 这种分析的结果将对信号的基础神经科学产生影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Understanding the biophysical properties of single neurons and how they process information is fundamental to understanding how brain works. The long-term objective of this proposal is to contribute to understanding the logic of information processing in the dendrites of individual vertebrate neurons. We will utilize new tools, based on a recently developed high-resolution imaging technique with intracellular voltage-sensitive dyes, to examine two notable spatial aspects of dendritic integration; (a) processing of sensory information in two functional compartments of mitral cells of the olfactory bulb and (b) functional subdivisions of CA1 pyramidal neuron dendritic tree. An accurate description of interactions between excitatory and inhibitory components in different dendritic compartments of mitral and tufted cells should facilitate understanding of the process of signal integration in the olfactory bulb. Such an understanding would be an important step toward comprehension of neuronal mechanisms involved in sensory perception. The postulate that synaptic amplification of the backpropagating action potential is restricted to the site of synaptic input is based on computer simulation and indirect experimental evidence. This is an important hypothesis because spatially restricted changes in excitability could functionally subdivide a neuron; multiple functional compartments, in turn, have important implications for synaptic integration and plasticity. The results of this analysis will bear on the basic neuroscience of signaling.