Year: 2015
Type: review
Abstract: Nonlinear dendritic integration is thought to increase the computational ability of neurons. Most studies focus on how supralinear summation of excitatory synaptic responses arising from clustered inputs within single dendrites result in the enhancement of neuronal firing, enabling simple computations such as feature detection. Recent reports have shown that sublinear summation is also a prominent dendritic operation, extending the range of subthreshold input-output (sI/O) transformations conferred by dendrites. Like supralinear operations, sublinear dendritic operations also increase the repertoire of neuronal computations, but feature extraction requires different synaptic connectivity strategies for each of these operations. In this article we will review the experimental and theoretical findings describing the biophysical determinants of the three primary classes of dendritic operations: linear, sublinear, and supralinear. We then review a Boolean algebra-based analysis of simplified neuron models, which provides insight into how dendritic operations influence neuronal computations. We highlight how neuronal computations are critically dependent on the interplay of dendritic properties (morphology and voltage-gated channel expression), spiking threshold and distribution of synaptic inputs carrying particular sensory features. Finally, we describe how global (scattered) and local (clustered) integration strategies permit the implementation of similar classes of computations, one example being the object feature binding problem.
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Pasteur, Gènes, synapses et cognition, Inserm, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Imperial College London, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Adaptation Biologique et Vieillissement, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, National Research University Higher School of Economics
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
Awards: G2838663467, In vitro and in vivo examination of the spatial and temporal distribution of synaptic inputs and synaptic integration in layer 2/3 visual cortical neurons, G4618871049, G663434444, G6812311559, G7155149077, Defining neuronal computations for cerebellar microcircuit processing of sensory information
OpenAlex ID: W2053567938