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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-1-26
pubmed:abstractText
This report describes the variability of spontaneous firing characteristics of sensory neurons, electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) pyramidal cells, within the electrosensory lateral line lobe of weakly electric fish in vivo. We show that these cells' spontaneous firing frequency, measures of spike train regularity (interspike interval coefficient of variation), and the tendency of these cells to produce bursts of action potentials are correlated with the size of the cell's apical dendritic arbor. We also show that bursting behavior may be influenced or controlled by descending inputs from higher centers that provide excitatory and inhibitory inputs to the pyramidal cells' apical dendrites. Pyramidal cells were classified as "bursty" or "nonbursty" according to whether or not spike trains deviated significantly from the expected properties of random (Poisson) spike trains of the same average firing frequency, and, in the case of bursty cells, the maximum within-burst interspike interval characteristic of bursts was determined. Each cell's probability of producing bursts above the level expected for a Poisson spike train was determined and related to spontaneous firing frequency and dendritic morphology. Pyramidal cells with large apical dendritic arbors have lower rates of spontaneous activity and higher probabilities of producing bursts above the expected level, while cells with smaller apical dendrites fire at higher frequencies and are less bursty. The effect of blocking non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (non-NMDA) glutamatergic synaptic inputs to the apical dendrites of these cells, and to local inhibitory interneurons, significantly reduced the spontaneous occurrence of spike bursts and intracellular injection of hyperpolarizing current mimicked this effect. The results suggest that bursty firing of ELL pyramidal cells may be under descending control allowing activity in electrosensory feedback pathways to influence the firing properties of sensory neurons early in the processing hierarchy.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0022-3077
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
85
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
10-22
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Dendritic modulation of burst-like firing in sensory neurons.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA. jbastian@ou.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.