Dendritic Morphology Affects the Velocity and Amplitude of Back-propagating Action Potentials.
10.1007/s12264-022-00931-9
- Author:
Wu TIAN
1
;
Luxin PENG
2
;
Mengdi ZHAO
3
;
Louis TAO
4
;
Peng ZOU
5
;
Yan ZHANG
6
Author Information
1. State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
2. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
3. Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
4. Center for Quantitative Biology, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. taolt@mail.cbi.pku.edu.cn.
5. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. zoupeng@pku.edu.cn.
6. State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. yanzhang@pku.edu.cn.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Action potential;
Back-propagation;
Dendrite;
Synaptic integration
- MeSH:
Action Potentials/physiology*;
Dendrites/physiology*;
Neurons/physiology*;
Neuronal Plasticity;
Pyramidal Cells/physiology*
- From:
Neuroscience Bulletin
2022;38(11):1330-1346
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The back-propagating action potential (bpAP) is crucial for neuronal signal integration and synaptic plasticity in dendritic trees. Its properties (velocity and amplitude) can be affected by dendritic morphology. Due to limited spatial resolution, it has been difficult to explore the specific propagation process of bpAPs along dendrites and examine the influence of dendritic morphology, such as the dendrite diameter and branching pattern, using patch-clamp recording. By taking advantage of Optopatch, an all-optical electrophysiological method, we made detailed recordings of the real-time propagation of bpAPs in dendritic trees. We found that the velocity of bpAPs was not uniform in a single dendrite, and the bpAP velocity differed among distinct dendrites of the same neuron. The velocity of a bpAP was positively correlated with the diameter of the dendrite on which it propagated. In addition, when bpAPs passed through a dendritic branch point, their velocity decreased significantly. Similar to velocity, the amplitude of bpAPs was also positively correlated with dendritic diameter, and the attenuation patterns of bpAPs differed among different dendrites. Simulation results from neuron models with different dendritic morphology corresponded well with the experimental results. These findings indicate that the dendritic diameter and branching pattern significantly influence the properties of bpAPs. The diversity among the bpAPs recorded in different neurons was mainly due to differences in dendritic morphology. These results may inspire the construction of neuronal models to predict the propagation of bpAPs in dendrites with enormous variation in morphology, to further illuminate the role of bpAPs in neuronal communication.
